#AND ALL SAMPLES INTACT

[bryng]

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[lunasfics]

Found Family

summary: In which Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent engage in a custody battle over a clone created from both their DNA, or, in which you get saved from a lab and gain two new families who would move mountains for you.

pairing: Bat Family x f! Reader, Supers x f! Reader

word count: 8.2k

preview

a/n: hello! IT'S FINALLY OUT WOOHOO, it's a bit long but i had a lot of fun writing it. certain characters may be a bit ooc so i do apologize as i'm still getting my footing on how to characterize certain people. let me know what you think! constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated (just pls don't be mean lol)! i left a somewhat open-ish ending because i wanna make this into a series/universe, and will start taking requests for drabbles in this universe, depending on how this is received! - luna :)

reblogs are appreciated!

“I’m in. Robin, what’s your status?” Bruce spoke into the earpiece, swiftly moving through the shadows of the lab. It was a simple mission: get into the lab Lex Luthor had created under Gotham City, collect intel needed to take down said lab, and leave. Unfortunately, it’s never really that simple, is it? 

“I’m in, making my way through the west wing, cover is still intact,” Damian muttered back. 

“Good. Nightwing?” 

“Just entered the center lab, heading down to the bottom level now, haven't been spotted,” Dick said, making his way down the steps, careful to remain silent. 

“Good. Remember the objective. In and Out.” Bruce muttered as he continued, searching for the locked file cabinet he was looking for. 

“Files located. Ready for extraction” Damian said quietly through the intercom. 

“I’ve made it to the bottom level. Requesting immediate backup, there's something here you guys need to see” Dick’s voice echoed through the earpiece, “They’ve made another clone.” 

Bruce stopped what he was doing, silently making his way down the hall towards the staircase Dick took around a half hour before, “I'm on my way. Damian?”

“Heading there now. Files are downloaded.” 

Upon arriving at the lower level, Dick bypasses security to let them in, making sure to reactivate the lock behind them, “Look.”

He gestured to the incubation tube not far from them, inside of it stood a young woman, who looked no older than 20, wearing a black skin-tight suit, a familiar “S” symbol adorning her chest, only it was the center of another symbol, the bat symbol, with bat ears at the top and bat wings on either side of it, a dark burgundy color with gold lining along the edges. The plaque below the tube read: 

Attempt 1: G6B24 

Specimen 1: Superman (Identity: Unknown)

Specimen 2: Batman (Identity: Unknown) 

Status: Failed - Shows excessive signs of emotional intelligence (unfit for purpose), Subject is not invulnerable, Lacks thermal vision

‘Emotional Intelligence’ you must have shown hesitation, a moral compass. 

“Father… what are we going to do?” Damian asked, he was at a loss, part of him felt slightly threatened, if you were taken in, he would no longer be the only child related to Bruce by DNA, and you were older, stronger— perhaps you would take his place, the place he’d finally felt he truly belonged; however he remained silent, his past self likely would have attempted to argue against your rescue, but he’d grown, he knew deep down you deserved a chance at this life just as much as he did. 

Bruce looked up at your unconscious figure, at a loss for words, you were his daughter, intentional or not, there was a part of him in you, he only hoped that part wouldn't screw you over for life. As surprised as he was, he had an obligation to you the same way he did with Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass, Steph, Barbara, Duke, Damian, and every other vigilante he had taken under his wing.

His Batman instincts kicked in very quickly though, immediately refocusing himself, reading through the files, in an attempt to prepare himself for any possible scenario, he turned to Dick. 

“Find all the DNA samples they have belonging to both me and Superman, we’re taking them,” he said, making sure to not hyper-focus on the thoughts flooding his mind. 

“We’re not just leaving her here, are we? The plaque says ‘failed’. Who knows what could happen to her?” Dick said, he was frustrated.

Conner had gotten a chance to build a life for himself. You deserved one too, the mere thought of Bruce wanting to leave you there angered him. 

“She’s coming with us. Damian, watch the door, Dick, find the samples," Bruce said gruffly, moving to the tube, bypassing the database to open it, without setting off any system safeguards. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out his shard of kryptonite, just in case it was needed to neutralize you. 

The tube opened slowly, a swoosh sound filling the air as the cold fog escaped the tube, spilling into the air, your eyes fluttering open as you looked around, your eyes focusing on him.

You flew at him, full speed, pushing him against the wall with a thud, knocking the wind out of him, your eyes boring into his, glowing red, just as you were about to terminate him with your heat vision, he uttered the safe word he had seen in your file. 

“Blue Pineapple” he grunted out, the red in your eyes fading away instantly, as you stared at him with wide eyes. You backed away slowly, lowering yourself to the floor. Your eyes fixed on him once again.

You recognized him from your programming, the man whose combat skills were engraved into your mind.

“Batman?” 

Dick and Damian rushed over, making sure Bruce was okay. He was fine.

Dick turned to you, holding out his hand, “Come with me. We need to get you out of here, you aren’t safe here.” 

You stared at him, your eyes narrowing, “Why should I trust you?” 

Dick sighed, Those damn Wayne genetics, he kept his hand extended to you, “Because we’re helping you escape, if you come with us, you can meet Superman, be a hero just like him and Batman, you could actually see the world” he promised. 

"I know what the world looks like." you stated bluntly.

He sighed, his hand not wavering, "But have you ever experienced it? Let us show you what that's like. You can have a life."

You thought for a moment, before letting out a small grunt, nodding at him and taking his hand, allowing them to lead you out of the lab grounds seemingly undetected. 

When you stepped out, you stopped, eyes completely transfixed on the brilliant night sky. Blends of blues and purples and grays danced together to make the beautiful endless abyss above you. You knew every color there was. You knew everything, but at the same time you really didn't. You stared up at the stars, you knew how they came to be, you knew every scientific explanation there was yet seeing them… it made you feel a way you couldn’t explain.

They led you to the batmobile, situating you in the back seat with Damian, starting the drive to the Batcave. Bruce dialed Clark’s number into the keypad, it rang twice before he picked up. 

“Hello?” 

“Meet me in the Batcave. It’s urgent. Bring Conner.”

“What’s going o-”

He hung up. 

Dick covered his mouth to hide his snicker, “So, Bruce, you and Clark have an official love child now, right? What will Lois think?” he feigned concern, placing the back of his hand over his forehead, committing to the drama, “Oh, how scandalous, I mean really, the shame! I can already see the headlines ‘Billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne turned common whore after breaking up happy metropolis family’” 

Damian covered his laugh with a cough.

You looked at the three of them, utterly confused, still processing what was going on. 

Bruce huffed, shooting them both a glare, “Dick, be mature.” 

Dick smiled, “I can't help myself, just wait til Jason finds out.” He smiled in excitement, as they pulled into the side entrance of the Batcave. 

Bruce let out a deep, tired sigh.

Clark sat in silence in the Batcave, Conner standing to his left, his eyes wide as he stared at you, possessing some features belonging to both he and Bruce, and other features that seemed to be entirely your own.

You stared back, that same stoic nature radiating off of you that radiates off the Batman, however, he noted the defensive look in your eyes, one so similar to the one he saw in Conner when he first met him. He eyed your suit, noting the familiar “S” symbol, only it was a burgundy color, a rather interesting combination of the Batman and Superman emblems, and he was utterly confused.

He looked over at Bruce, still in his bat suit, his cowl pulled off, “Bruce, what the hell is going on?” 

“I had to call you here because Luthor decided to create another clone. I did the DNA test, Clark, she’s a combination of both our DNA” Bruce looked at him, Dick and Damian standing to his right. It was silent for a moment, you felt like a guinea pig, the way they all stared at you. It made you angry. 

Conner was the first to speak, stepping forward before opening his mouth, choosing his words carefully, “What’s your name?” 

You responded immediately, it felt automatic. “Experiment attempt number one. Code G6B24. I was made to be the future killer of the Batman and the Kriptonian.” 

He nodded slowly, “I’m a clone too, and Clark took me in— well, he took me in eventually— that’s besides the point. He showed me how to become my own person, we can help you do that too.”

You looked at him, eyes softening ever so slightly, but you kept your guard up like your Batman programming taught you to. “I was made to be a killer, if I don’t do what I was made to do, what am I worth?” you said quietly, voice unwavering.

Damian watched you, your words striking him in a way he hadn't expected them to, he understood what you were saying all too well. 

Bruce decided to speak up next, “You were created, it’s not your fault what their intentions were when they did so. What you become from here on out is your choice.” 

You stayed silent, eyes darting around the room—What is this feeling? Vulnerability? You knew it by definition, like you did most other feelings, but feeling them… it was different. 

Dick noted the way you seemed overwhelmed, he approached you slowly, pulling up two chairs, motioning for you to sit, you chose to remain standing until he sat down first. 

“You know, we trust you, we want to figure out a way for you to become the best you can be. On your terms” he said, offering you a small smile. 

You looked around, the others nodded in agreement, “I was made to be only the best parts of you” you said, your gaze focusing on Clark and Bruce, they both put their best qualities forward to help others, how could you use those same qualities to destroy that?

“I… don’t want to be a killer. They said I was too… human. I thought I’d failed them.” 

Damian decided to step forward, “You didn’t fail anyone, you are meant for greater things. You haven't killed anyone, you can choose your path. If the path you choose is the Robin mantle... I am willing to work with that.” 

At this, the other men in the room turned to look at him, Clark and Conner were slack-jawed, this was the same kid who fought Tim tooth and nail over this mantle. The same mantle he was just… willing to give you? 

Meanwhile Dick had a proud smile on his face, you thought you saw a small tear in his eye.

Bruce’s face seemed unreadable, however, you took notice of the way the corners of his lips turned up for a split second. before reverting back to their natural state. 

You weren’t sure what to say, again, you knew what this mantle was, by definition. The reality was you had no sense of what it meant, the weight it carried. And you knew that.

“Thank you, but I feel like that title isn’t mine to take. I think I need to… become something that's true to who I am, whatever that may be.”  

Bruce looked at you, the corner of his lip barely twitching up into a smile, a smile so subtle that only someone of your… background would notice, an attempt of his towards getting you more comfortable, “We should start with a name.” 

You looked at Conner, he gave you an encouraging smile. 

“Like I chose Conner, so now I’m Conner Kent,” he said with a small shrug, “You can choose whatever you want.” 

“I see,” you thought for a moment, “I like Y/n.” 

Clark smiled, standing up and clapping his hands together, “Great! Y/n Kent, has a nice ring to it.” 

“Wayne.” 

He turned towards Bruce, eyes narrowing slightly, “Kent.”

“Wayne.”

This time Conner spoke, “Kent.”

The three men stared at each other, arms crossed mirroring each-other’s glares. 

Dick cut in, “How about Grayson?”

“No.” came their simultaneous response. 

Dick frowned, slumping in the seat next to yours, “Jeez.” 

Damian spoke next, “I suppose Al Ghul is off the table…” 

Dick snorted, breaking out into a fit of laughter, you grinned softly at the sounds of his laughter, it reminded you of a windshield wiper. 

Conner sighed, “Fine, what about Wayne-Kent?”

Bruce huffed, “I suppose.”

Clark nodded, the smile returning to his face as he turned to you, “Y/n Wayne-Kent”

You nodded, “I like it.” 

Dick could help but laugh from beside you, “It's like I'm watching reality tv. Love me some baby mama drama.”

Clark opened his mouth to speak and closed it, before sighing and looking at Bruce, who just pinched the bridge of his nose. 

Conner chuckled at the sight, turning to Damian, who’s lip quirked up in amusement. 

Bruce looked up, his attention directed towards you, “Y/n, you can stay here for the night, I’ve asked Alfred to set up a room for you. Clark, Conner, come by tomorrow with Lois and Jon, I’ve called the others to come by as well, we’ll get everything situated tomorrow. For now, get some rest.” 

Everyone nodded, Clark and Conner heading to the exit of the cave, Damian, Dick and Bruce leading you to the room that was prepared for you. 

Dick brought you a sweater and some sweatpants to change into, closing the door with a soft, “Goodnight, kiddo.” 

You changed in silence, slowly getting under the covers and drifting off to sleep, marking the start of your new life. Tomorrow would be an interesting day. 

You woke up the next morning, to a soft knock on the door, your super hearing picking it up better than you would have liked. You opened the door, revealing an older man you hadn’t seen before. He smiled softly, giving you an instantaneous sense of comfort you couldn’t explain. 

“Hello Miss Y/n. My name is Alfred, I am the butler,” he greeted you, handing you a folded set of clothes, “Master Kent chose these for you, however if they are not to your liking, do let me know.” 

“They’re fine…Thank you.”

He smiled warmly, the kind old man giving you a nod, “Once you've changed, do come down, I’ve prepared breakfast. The other members of the family will arrive soon to meet you.” 

You gave him a short nod, he smiled again, your demeanor reminding him of the young Bruce he’d looked after all those years ago. He shut your door softly before retreating down the staircase, leaving you in your room to change. 

You picked up the small note that rested at the top of the pile, reading it over. 

Comfortable, Practical, and cool. Hope you like it. - Conner

You looked down at the neatly folded clothes, unfolding a black long sleeve turtleneck shirt, the material was thick but breathable, you slipped it on with ease, the foreign material soft against your skin, you appreciated that it didn’t suffocate you. 

You reached for the pants next, dark gray cargo pants, these were thicker, and the had an overwhelming amount of pockets. You slipped them on before slipping on the boots that were at the bottom of the stack and exiting the room, going down the staircase. 

Upon entering the dining room, you were met with Bruce sitting at the head of the table, reading the paper calmly eating his pancakes, to his right sat Dick chatting excitedly to the boy next to him, who smiled at him as he listened, he was a slender boy with black hair who looked a bit younger than Dick. Then there was Alred, calmly enjoying his breakfast. Finally there was Damian on the other side of Bruce, leaving an empty seat between Damian and Alred. You sat down, the pale boy noticing you first. 

Bruce looked up, “Tim, this is Y/n.” 

“Hello.” You sat up awkwardly. One thing you never learned was how to navigate social interactions.

He studied you for a moment, offering you a small smile, “I’m Tim.” 

You gave a nod, returning his smile with a smaller one of your own. 

“She knows, by the way.” Dick chimed in.

His eyes widened, was that why you were there? 

“How?” 

All eyes are on you. You opened your mouth to speak but Damian spoke first. 

“She’s a clone. Father will explain everything when everyone else arrives so as to not waste time, until then, hold on to your childish curiosity. I’d like to enjoy my breakfast.” 

Dick nodded, “She was literally made for this shit.”

“Watch your language Master Dick, it is deplorable to speak in such a way at the table, much less in the presence of a lady.” 

Dick blushed, “Sorry Alfred.” 

Bruce simply gave a nod. 

Tim slumped back in his seat, wanting to ask you questions about your abilities, your earliest memories, who were you a clone of, how your programming worked, the boy was itching to know it all. 

Breakfast passed by relatively quickly after that, you weren’t bombarded with questions, much to your relief. Alfred kindly asked you how you slept to which you replied that you slept well. The sound of casual conversation and glassware scraping together filling the room. You enjoyed observing the atmosphere.

Clark and Conner were the first to arrive at the manor, greeting you happily, with them was a woman and a younger boy, who immediately went to sit by Damian. 

Clark brought them over to you, the woman smiled warmly at you. It made you feel safe. 

She held your hand in hers, “My name is Lois,” her voice was kind, genuine. You noted how she carried herself. Strong, secure, honest. 

Clark was quick to bring Jon over, excited to introduce him, “This is my son, Jon.”

“Hi!”  he beamed at you, you smiled, he was cute. Cheerful as he smiled brightly at you. 

“Hello, my name is Y/n.” you greeted the two, who smiled at you.

Conner was the next to approach, “Did you like the clothes? I picked them out cause it was all I used to wear, but who knows, you may want something more… fashionable.”

You smiled softly, “They're nice, thank you.”

“On that note actually,” Clark said, “I was thinking we can take you shopping later, Bruce and I can pay.” 

Bruce deadpanned, “That’s a joke, right?” 

He smiled, “Of course, you’re paying for everything.”

“Sounds about right.” 

Chatter filled the room not long after, Jon and Damian catching up on the couch while Conner and Tim started a conversation of their own. 

The next people to arrive were three young women, blonde, brunette, and red hair. They had arrived together.

The blonde spoke first, “Why'd you call us here Bruce? We had planned for brunch.” She bitterly narrowed her eyes at him, the brunette behind her giving a short nod of agreement.

Bruce sighed, “We’re waiting on Jason. He’s late.” 

“As always.” The redhead said with a sigh, though you could see she wasn't actually upset.  

The blonde girl turned to you first smiling, “I’m Stephanie, but call me Steph. I’m assuming you’ll be joining our vigilante posse.” She seemed funny, and kind, like she truly cared for those around her. 

“Somewhat, I don’t really know. I’m Y/n.” You said bluntly.

“Pretty name.” She smiled, gesturing to the red haired woman behind her, “This is Barbara, but she's really just Babs.” She then gestured to the brunette, “That’s Cass. She’s lovely.” 

You looked at them and nodded, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Barbara smiled warmly at you, “You too, I’m so glad there’ll be another girl around, we can always use more company.” She smiled at you so kindly, despite having only just met you. Her voice was sweet, like honey. 

Cass smiled softly at you, “Come to brunch with us later. Or, lunch, now since Jason is holding us up.” 

You nodded your lip quirking up into a small smile, “I’d enjoy that.” 

Truthfully, you didn't know what the fuck brunch was. But she said lunch and that you knew. You'd find out about brunch later.

Then, as if on cue, the man in question arrived, walking through the door, slipping off his brown jacket and tossing it on the couch. He was tall, with a stocky frame, jet black hair with a white streak on the front. 

“This better be good.” 

Tim mumbled, “Finally” 

“Miss me Timmy?” 

“Quite the contrary.”

The one called Jason laughed before giving him a small nudge, to which Tim swatted his hand away. 

His eyes fixed on you, then on Bruce. 

“Dude, seriously? Another one? You have a problem man. You’d think you would’ve stopped after me.” 

Bruce stood up, “Jason, sit down. Now that you’re all here I wanted to introduce you to Y/n. She’s a clone, made from both mine, and Clark’s DNA.” 

“Holy shit, man.” 

“Jason, will you shut up?” 

“Never.” 

“As I was saying, she’ll be here in the manor for the time being, I’ll be training her and assessing her combat technique.” 

“Hold on,” Clark interjected, “She should come with us, she needs to get the hang of her powers.” 

“Clark, I have a state of the art training area in the cave.” 

“So? We’re supers, all we need is an open field.” 

“We need to assess her combat skills, and also assess the extent of her powers. She isn’t invulnerable. We need to prioritize getting to the bottom of that.” 

Clark huffed but nodded, understanding the full extent of your abilities was vital in actually training you. 

“It’s like I’m watching a custody battle.” muttered Steph, Barbara laughing quietly beside her. 

“Wait- So Y/n is basically if you and Clark had a baby?” Tim gawked at them, his eyes shifting from Bruce to Clark, to you. When his eyes landed on you, he fired questions like he was on a time limit. 

“How do Bruce’s genetics affect your abilities? Are you immune to kryptonite and invulnerable? How does your thermal vision work? Enhanced strength? Can you fly? Can you fly as fast as Superman? Do you have combat training? How do y-” 

Conner smacked a hand over his mouth, leading him back to his seat, “Lets try not to overwhelm her with the questions.” He chuckled. 

Tim nodded, looking up at you, “Sorry, Y/n.” 

“That’s okay. To answer your questions, his genetics don’t necessarily have a huge impact on any of my abilities, I was created with every available video of Batman fighting embedded into my mind, and the combat skills were engraved in my memory, I should be able to replicate his fighting style to a tee. I’m not invulnerable, but in theory, the stealth I was programmed with allows me to stay agile enough that I shouldn’t often get hurt. I don't have thermal vision, but I do have laser vision, enhanced strength, and flight, although I haven’t tested how fast I actually can fly. And like I said, my combat training is essentially the combat footage uploaded into my mind.” 

Tim had nodded, eyes trained on yours in complete interest as you answered each question, occasionally jotting something down on the notes app of his phone. 

Lois narrowed her eyes slightly at both Bruce and Clark, “I do hope you’re factoring in giving her the opportunity to build an actual social life. Maybe get her enrolled in school.” 

“She has doctorate-level information on several different topics stored into her mind, as well as fluency in 8 languages. I think she’ll be fine, Lois,” Bruce replied. 

She rolled her eyes, “Okay, so school’s not necessary, what about building a social life for herself? That’s important.” 

“There’s Young Justice,” Conner said, “I figured she’d join.” 

Tim nodded in agreement, “I can help her get situated.” 

“Where will I stay?” you asked, you didn’t particularly enjoy how they were all discussing you as if you weren't there, but there honestly wasn’t much you could do. 

“You can stay at the manor, or you can stay with the team, but it'd be best if you lived here in the Manor.” Bruce replied.

“Why isn’t Metropolis an option?” Clark muttered. 

“Because it’s more practical to have her here in Gotham, living with Tim will make it easier to adjust to the team.” 

“I want time with her, Bruce.” 

“You’ll get it. We’ll have her assessed, then three times a week she’ll train and get a hold of her powers with you.” 

Clark nodded, satisfied with that answer. 

Lois spoke again, turning to you, “Y/n, how does that sound to you?” 

You blinked. “It sounds fine. My super hearing allows me to hear every conversation proficiently.”

She chuckled softly, “It’s a figure of speech sweetheart, I meant if you’re okay with everything that was said, you’ve been a bit quiet.”

You felt your face grow hot, “Oh. Yeah, I’m okay with it.”

Clark gave you a fond smile. 

Bruce looked at you and smiled softly, a barely noticeable one, but a smile nonetheless. 

The bulk of the conversation was over. The people in the room falling into easy conversation with one another, you look around, not sure what to do. That is until Jason approaches you, a kind smile on his face. 

“Hey Y/n, I’m Jason, I’ll be honest, you probably won't see me too often cause I can barely stand being around Bruce, but… if he’s ever a dick, call me and I’ll either punch him for you and take you somewhere he’s not.” he grinned, “Or both.” 

You laughed softly, “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

He nodded, “I’ll be raiding the kitchen, but if anyone asks, I left.” He shoots you a grin before slipping away. 

It’s not long after that when Jon approaches you, Damian by his side, he shoots you a toothy grin, “So, you’re like, my sister now, right?” 

You’re not sure how to respond, but you feel a puddle of warmth pooling in your heart, it’s nice. You smile at him softly, “I suppose so.” 

He grins, “And that would also make you Damian’s sister. right?”

“I suppose so.” 

“See Damian, we’re blood brothers by extension.” 

“Jon, that is the most imbecilic logic I’ve ever encountered. Just because Y/n is both my blood and yours doesn’t mean–” 

“Blood brothers!” He had shouted cheerfully, before walking away and over to Lois to inform her of the good news. 

Damian sighed, though you took notice of the soft smile that flashed across his face, you concluded that he cared for him. 

A lot of people in this family– Bruce’s family specifically, tend to hide affection, despite the fact that it is apparent to you that they feel it. You decide not to focus on it, people are complicated. 

You chat a bit with various people in the room, Lois telling you that you’re always welcome to visit whenever you’d like, Barbara talking to you about how her work as Oracle, Steph telling you all about the other vigilantes you’ll probably end up crossing paths with. Tim and Conner sat by you, telling you all about the team and the people you’ll meet once all your training is done. 

Slowly, people start to leave, you saw Jason slip out the front door first, sending you a wink. Dick left not long after, needing to return to his responsibilities in Bludhaven, making sure to tell you you’re always welcome to visit him over there. Then Clark left with Lois, Jon, and Conner, leaving the residents of the manor plus, Cass, Steph and Barbara.

Damian and Tim had retreated to their rooms, while Alfred busied himself with household chores, Bruce stood up, approaching you before saying, “Did you still want to go shopping? You’ll need training clothes.” 

You nodded, “Yes, please.” 

Steph perked up, rushing towards the two of you, “Oh, we have to come.” 

“Steph, you go shopping every week. With my card.”

Barbara chimed in, “It’s not about that Bruce, you have a terrible fashion sense. We can’t let you impose that onto Y/n.”

Cass nodded in agreement. 

“We’re just buying training clothes.” 

“She can’t wear training clothes in her daily life,” Steph rolled her eyes, “She needs a wardrobe.” 

You smiled, “I would like a wardrobe.” 

“See?”

Bruce sighed but nodded, “Let's go then.”

Steph cheered while Barbara and Cass high-fived behind her, it was an amusing site. 

When you arrived at the mall, Steph immediately linked arms with you, dragging you around to her favorite stores, paying no mind to your super strength potentially being able to accidentally break her arm. It caught you off guard, not only the physical display of affection, but the trust.

Again, you felt that soft puddle of warmth pool in your chest. You could get used to that. 

You had gotten to know Barbara and Cass fairly well during the trip as well, Barbara was sweet, she and Steph made you laugh more than you thought you could. Cass and you got along well too, she picked out the clothes you liked the most, always nodding in approval when you would try anything on, a soft smile on her face. The three of them opened their group up to you so quickly, it had surprised you, you felt that with their company you were better able to navigate finding yourself. 

The four of you hadn’t paid much mind to Bruce trailing behind you as you went from store to store, not that he minded. He held a fond smile as he observed the four of you giggling, talking, and having a good time.

He knew his focus on training was important, but he also knew Lois was right (not that he’d admit that to anyone), you needed a social life too. And he knew your heightened emotional intelligence would surely allow you to obtain that, you just needed to blossom, and allow yourself to break free of the restraints you put on yourself. 

He’d lost count of how many times he had swiped his card that day, at some point he had decided to just start waiting by the front, once you guys were ready, he’d walk over, swipe his card, and you guys would move on to the next shop. He wouldn't say this to anyone, but he enjoyed doing things like this, taking care of the people he cares about. 

The last store you had gone to was WayneTech, it was Bruce’s idea. You needed a phone in order to keep everyone’s contacts. So they brought you there where you got the latest model of their cell phone line, it was sleek and thin. You picked out a case and you got a screen protector. Bruce had told you that once you got to the Batcave he’d input league contacts, safety features, as well as league-level security settings. 

By the end of the trip it was early in the evening, Bruce had his arms absolutely filled with shopping bags, and what he couldn’t carry was carried by you and Steph. The five of you stepped out into the parking lot, the sun setting, casting a deep orange hue on the parking lot. You took in the image in front of you, you didn’t know suns could set so beautifully.

The ride home was nice, the car was filled with the soft chatter of the four of you, Bruce didn’t feel the need to listen in. The soft music playing on the stereo as a background was a nice addition to the atmosphere. 

When you’d arrived at the manor, the girls had bid you goodbye, but not before making sure they had your number to add you to their group chat. You were warned by Steph that Cass’s meme game could not be beat. You were slightly confused but nodded, a happy smile on your face. They each gave you a hug before getting in their cars and heading off. 

The walk into the manor was silent, but not awkward, mainly the two of you taking armfuls of bags up to your room.

As he shut the door, Bruce turned to you, “It’s not too late, if you want, we could start out on some training.” 

You nodded, going into your room to change, “I’ll be down there in a bit.” 

He nodded, walking away to change as well. 

You entered the Batcave shortly after, comfortable in your black sweatpants, and a black long sleeve athletic shirt. Now, having a better opportunity to take it all in, it was massive. You looked to your left to see Damian sparring with Tim in one of the further training areas. You walked over to Bruce, he gave you a small smile, leading you to the second training area by Tim and Damian, who by now had stopped sparring, in favor of observing your skill. 

“You can replicate my fighting style to a tee, right?”

You nodded.

“Let’s see it.” 

You charged first, making sure to suppress your strength, your movements swift and calculated, landing a fast right kick to his abdomen. He sidestepped, landing a swift punch to your side. You kept attempting attacks on eachother, each one dodging the other flawlessly.

Tim and Damian watched in awe as the two of you gracefully moved, as if you were dancing. This went on for several minutes, until you attempted a fast left kick to his side, which he caught, using as leverage to flip you over on your back.

Your limbs ached, you looked up at him, “How did you do that?”

He held a hand out to help you up, “I’m not as fast with my left kicks as I am with my right ones. My weaknesses are your weaknesses.”

You nodded. Made sense. 

“You have good technique, and you replicate my fighting perfectly, but that’s all it is. A replication. You need to make it your own. Adapt it in accordance with your abilities, you can’t do that now because Clark hasn’t trained you, but in time you will.” 

You nodded, your chest swelling with pride at his compliment, you knew after your training with Clark you would be able to better adjust your fighting style.

Damian walked over to you, “Y/n. I’d like to spar, you’ve proven to be a worthy opponent.” 

You nodded, it would be good to spar with someone with a different fighting style. Tim sat down to the side, perfectly content with just observing for now, like earlier, he occasionally jotted down some notes on his phone. You decided you didn’t mind it. It was endearing. 

This time, Damian charged first, landing a swift right kick to your ribs, you turned and landed a hard kick to his chest, sending him back, before he flipped and caught himself, running towards you again. His smaller frame provided him with an advantage as he jumped onto your shoulders, before he could land his blow, you flipped your body, sending him to the floor, landing on his back with a thud. You crouched over him, extending your hand.

“You okay?”

“Fine.” he took your hand, getting up to his feet, you gave him a soft smile, which he returned, giving you a nod of approval. He, like Bruce, didn’t often use his words, but you were able to discern their intentions just fine. 

Bruce then led you to a machine he had in the cave, where it analyzed your genetics in comparison to Clark’s, he had determined you were missing the genetic composition that happened to be the main source of invulnerability, therefore the reason you were the way you were. You are unfortunately still weak when exposed to kryptonite. 

You were tired by the end of the night. You felt you had bonded with Damian, he had asked you to spar with him another time, to which you agreed.

The next day, Bruce had sent you over to Smallville, where Clark had decided on training you, ‘A good old fashioned open field’ were his exact words.

He made sure to send you wearing your original suit, not knowing how fast you would be flying, just in case, only you didn’t like it, so you opted to wear some sweats over the suit. 

And there you were, floating about 300 feet in the air with him, as he explained the basics of flying. 

“You want to create your own leverage, using your flight, you should be able to do this.” He bent one leg, tilting to the right as he effortlessly glided in that direction, he repeated the action only now going in the opposite direction. 

You nodded, imitating his movements, gliding from side to side before stopping and looking at him. He smiled brightly at you, “You’re doing great, kid. There was never a point where you didn’t have powers, so this should be easy. Now, we’ll test your speed.” 

You nodded, “How are we doing that?”

He pulled out a stopwatch, “I’m going to wait here while you fly to Gotham and back. You know the route?” 

You nodded. 

“Okay… and…. Go!”

You immediately shot forward, a slightly bumpy start but your body adapted immediately, you felt the wind whip through your hair, and a smile spread across your face as you made a U-turn around Gotham, making it back to Clark in seconds. 

“2.6 seconds. That’s good.” He smiled at you. 

You went on like that for the next few hours, him giving you encouraging words of advice, and you gained better control over your abilities, him providing you with tips he learned over the years. For that last hour, Jon and Conner joined the two of you, the four of you eventually just playing air tag until Martha and Lois called you in for dinner. 

They insisted you stay for dinner, and you had no mind to refuse, spending time with them was nice. Jon insisted he sat next to you at dinner, excitedly talking your ear off about whatever he’d gotten to that day, and sharing his favorite stories about Damian with you. He acts like he doesn't like people, but he’s got a soft spot for a lot of us, were his exact words. You honestly completely agreed, you smiled at him as he continued talking. 

That day you’d gotten to know Martha and Jonanthan Kent, who insisted you called them Ma and Pa. They instantly coddled you as if they’d known you since birth, though, in a way, that is technically the case. 

They didn't let you leave empty handed, sending you off with tupper-ware filled with leftovers, cookies and pie. You thanked them for their hospitality and headed back to the manor. 

The next few months were mainly doing morning and evening training with Bruce, occasionally Dick would stop by to train with you, always telling you he was proud of your improvement, which never failed to make you glow just a little brighter with pride. He’d begun a tradition where he would treat you to a burger after training, or whatever it was you were craving. He said that it was his goal to get you to try every fast food joint in Gotham, deciding that it was just an essential part of living there. You quickly decided you hated fast food, but never said anything because that wasn’t at all what mattered to you, what mattered to you was the bond you were creating with your older brother. 

Your relationship with Bruce wasn’t perfect. There were times you saw how focused he was on his mission, neglecting the feelings of those around him, he could be an asshole. And with you still navigating your emotions, you’d get angry and yell, and so would he. If you saw him brushing off Damian, or Tim, one look at the crestfallen expressions on their faces was enough to get you angry. You shouldn’t have been surprised, truthfully, you weren’t. You were too similar. You were just fortunate enough to be surrounded by people early on who could convince you to let them in. 

Regardless of the imperfections between you and Bruce, you knew he cared. He always showed it with the small smile he’d give you as he held up two tickets to the movie you had wanted to see. Or in the way he’d lure everyone into the living room with snacks for a movie night. Or how he’d try his best to always express to you that you were doing well. That you were enough, and that you deserved to be there. 

You’d grown closer with Tim, too, always willing to help him with his assignments (not that he often needed it, but on the rare occasions his sleep deprived self couldn’t wrap his head around a problem). You’d often go to him when you needed help figuring something out on your phone, to which he would offer a simple solution you hadn’t seen before.

Tim was kind, he showed he cared for you by fixing things, when you cracked your screen protector by accidentally tapping it too hard, he made you a new one that could withstand the force of a bullet. He learned to confide in you over time, telling you about Bernard, expressing his worries to you about whether or not he’s good enough. You’d always tell him he was more than good enough. 

Damian had taken to calling you ‘sister’, often challenging and teasing you when he could, you’d developed a relationship where he’d go to you for company. You’d sit in the garden and take in the life around you, while he sat a few feet away and drew it.

Once, he drew you while you weren’t looking, when he finished, he handed it to you without a word and walked away. In the bottom right corner you read ‘Y/n Wayne-Kent’ in neat handwriting, just below that, ‘sister’. That was the first time he’d used that word for you. Your heart swelled. 

You continued seeing Steph, Barbara, and Cass, regularly having lunch with them and talking with them on the phone. Barbara, or as you now called her, Babs, was always there to guide you when you needed it, she’d often send you small gifts from time to time, like jewelry that reminded her of you.

Cass and you would often find the most peaceful company in each other. She would listen to you talk about all the things you'd been learning, telling you about her own experience adjusting to a new life.

Steph and you bonded over poorly written hallmark movies, she always giggled madly when you would point out plot inconsistencies, wearing the most confused expression she had ever seen on a person, you didn’t understand why at first, you would just state facts, but you always enjoyed the time with her. She always says you guys should start a podcast, and you always agree. You hope she never asks you what a podcast is... because you genuinely didn't know.

True to his word, you didn’t see Jason often, but there were a few instances  where you felt particularly suffocated by Bruce’s training that you took him up on his offer to take you somewhere he wasn’t. Those moments were... nice. Every time, he would bring food, and take you to his apartment, where you talked about books and he introduced you to some of his favorite movies. You didn’t know why he and Bruce didn’t get along, but you chose not to pry.

Alfred had taken a liking to you instantly, he enjoyed giving you etiquette lessons, and would bake all kinds of scones and cookies for you to try. His humor was at times very dry and sarcastic, which never failed to make you laugh. He taught you how to bake once, finding you were exceptionally good at it, ‘Miss Y/n, I think we’ve found your natural talent’. You hadn’t expected to be good at it, but Alfred said you were phenomenal. 

You’d also train with Clark 3 times a week, getting even closer with the Kents, integrating yourself in both families. It was interesting being part of two very different families. But you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Clark had shown you a lot about your powers, but it was never just training. It had become a necessity for the two of you to fly to some famous landmark and have lunch together, before flying back to Smallville for more training.

Clark was constantly trying his best for you, he still had his regrets from his initial relationship with Conner, and although he was forgiven and their relationship was rebuilt, he knew he lost time. And he absolutely refused to repeat that and hurt someone else who didn’t deserve it. 

You always stayed for dinner, you found that you could never say no to Jon, the one time you tried was awful, you felt so bad that you went back the next day and took him shopping. With Bruce's card, duh.

Jon was stuck to you like glue whenever you were over. He always insisted on sitting by you and talking to you about whatever he’d been up to. He flew around with you a lot, you guys would play games that he taught you how to play. Your favorite moments were when he and Damian would allow you in to watch them play video games because ‘How do you not know how to play video games? That’s just wrong. We’ll teach you.’

Conner had spent more and more time with you as well, telling you about a lot of social cues, the importance of boundaries, etc. He was determined to help you adjust in every way he could, he shared his experiences with you when he first started working in teams. You learned a lot from him, he was very affectionate with you, but in that awkward-older-brother way. He’d give you a soft pat on the back and a smile, he knew you’d do just fine. 

Lois became your role model, you truly admired her. She was strong, outspoken, confident. She helped you not be afraid of forming your own opinions and voicing them. One time she saw you yell at Bruce over something he’d done, and all she could do was smile proudly.

These people whose lives you just appeared in one day, very quickly became your family. Every day you were reminded of how lucky you were to have come to care for them as much as you do. Bonding with them was nice, and you very quickly understood the appeal of having family.

These are people who care for you unconditionally, simply because they want to. Because every moment that they spend with you, they choose to.

And just like that, you were ready to meet the team. You had learned to combine your combat skills with your powers, if you need to, you can fight in mid air. You’d learned to incorporate your abilities into your technique to enhance your own personal style. And it felt amazing.

You knew every possible way to deliver an effective, non-lethal blow.  Of course, you needed a suit. Bruce offered to enhance the one you had worn the day they rescued you, but you wanted a new one. To you, that suit represented what you were created to be, and that is not who you are. You wanted something true to yourself, and he understood and wholeheartedly supported you. Damian helped you make a sketch, and together you’d designed the perfect representation of you. And you became Eclipse. The alignment of two heroes, though unintentional, created a whole new hero. You.

Taglist- @one-green-frog @bonniecat @minnieearsposts @chickentenderx @murkyponds @loserwithnofriends @ilikefanfics4 @fangirlvibez @instantplaiddream @lovelywritersgarden @calicocat45 @strawberrycreamh @sappynappysworld @zyuuuu @allycat4458 @lovelypitasworld @batfamlover @pterodactyl-hater @american-idiot21 @starlets-things @th1s-b1tch-1s-dead @dontgivemeyourname @normal-internet-user @sillyfinn @lostgirlsstuff @llvmakk @princess76179 @vanessa-boo @1lellykins @blitzythefanvergentpitsterthings @samibrewss @pickyblue12 @thetiredtoad0-0 @lacklustertrashbag (I'm not sure why some people's tags didn't work,, I am very sorry, if anyone has suggestions onhow to fix that i'm open to fix them)

[merakiui]

mera....my goat......

mayhaps yan silver with #32? silver who you've always assumed is just one of those recurring dream characters, until you start paying too much attention to your 'real' life... ??

idk there's not a ton of yan silver content out there and i feel like he would be so so scrumptious in your style ehehehe

😼🙏 one yan Silver coming up~ I listened to Kikuoworld album while writing this, so I hope the whimsy can be felt. <3

(cw: yandere, gender neutral reader, unhealthy behaviors/relationship, stalking, obsession, surreal dreams)

(monstrously yandere prompts)

DREAM JOURNAL; LOG 01 - the umbrella and the birthday cake rainstorm.

When you step outside, a three-tiered birthday cake comes falling from the sky. It lands in front of you in a smattering of buttercream frosting. Its rainbow of fondant flowers and sugar lace trimming are immediately squashed from the impact. Above you, dozens more come careening towards the earth, smacking into the awning. Frosting drips in syrupy trails from the roof, trickling into a puddle of sweetness.

You look on with a confusion that is palpable. The forecast didn’t call for rain.

Unexpected weather aside, you didn’t think to bring an umbrella. Normally you’re always prepared for these things, but a cake storm wasn’t on the list for today.

You wonder if you can run the way back to your dorm without getting drenched in cake crumbles and cream. A slice of cake is fine, but if a whole cake hits you over the head… You’d like to avoid that, if possible.

So you stick your hand out as if testing for rain droplets. A cake sliver lands on your palm, perfectly intact and preserved. You sample some for yourself and immediately cringe. That’s not your favorite flavor of cake. Too much cream. Or maybe not enough. Were you even holding cake just now? Because suddenly nothing’s there, your palm is dry, and it’s still raining steadily beyond the steps.

You sigh and resign yourself to your fate. A fate that’s filled with cake. There are worse things.

Preparing yourself for the sugary onslaught, you take one confident step out from under the awning and…

You’re dry.

You look up and notice an umbrella has taken residence above your head, shielding you from the downpour of slices. Sprinkles trickle off the cake-proof umbrella like multicolored droplets. When you look to your left, you find a silver-haired man standing there, his arm outstretched as he holds firm to the umbrella’s handle.

“Oh.” You notice he has the prettiest eyes, and for a second you’re so lost in them that you forget he’s watching you. “Um, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m just happy to have noticed you before you made a run for it. If you don’t mind, I’ll walk you back.”

“No, not at all. Thank you.” You search the silence for his name, but all you get is a stoic nod.

As you walk home, the lumpy piles of birthday cake melt onto the pavement. Eventually, they’re nothing but rotten slop that attracts all kinds of insects and animals.

A trail of them follows behind you and this peculiar man.

“This is me,” you say upon approaching Ramshackle Dorm, which looks less like its name and more like a luxury apartment.

You turn to acknowledge him, but he’s not there.

The umbrella remains suspended in the air, as if some invisible force is continuing to hold it.

The birthday cake rainstorm is gone just like that.

DREAM JOURNAL; LOG 02 - the shark(?) and the surgeon.

Somehow you’ve washed ashore.

Half of you, anyways.

There is nothing left of you from your waist down, your legs bitten off in one ravenous chomp. You’re certain it was from a shark, but then maybe it was an eel or a sea turtle—but turtles don’t have a maw of sharp, jagged teeth.

That doesn’t matter right now. You’re bleeding out and coloring the golden beach in a fatal shade of red.

You take in a ragged breath, shut your eyes, and decide this is fine. Everything is fine. You’re fine.

When you open your eyes, the silver-haired man is kneeling above you.

“Don’t move,” he says, already threading string through the needle. “I’ll help you.”

It occurs to you that he’s about to sew your lower half back on. How he managed to get it, you don’t know. Somehow he reads your mind, for his next words answer that question.

“The lamprey was kind enough to give it back.”

So it was a lamprey????

You blink up at him. “T-Thank…”

“Don’t push yourself.” And then he smiles a soft, sincere smile, one that matches the light in his eyes. “You’re going to be okay.”

When he touches your cheek, suddenly the sun isn’t so searing and the waves aren’t so choppy. Suddenly, you’re at peace with everything. You feel like liquid as you lay on the beach, a doll stitched up with string.

He fills each of your legs with sea glass and sand so that you won’t flop over when the next marine creature wants to display you on their coral mantle.

“How do you feel?” he asks after the operation has concluded. He helps you to sit up, one hand at your lower back to keep you steady. When he looks at you, you feel like you’re the only human in the world and he’s an alien peering in at Terra’s Last Homo Sapien (New Exhibit!).

You reach for him. “What’s your name?”

He opens his mouth and says—

It’s carried away on a gust of wind.

DREAM JOURNAL; LOG 03 - the day of the absentee shadow.

What is this one about?

Oh, right.

It’s the day your shadow pulled itself out from beneath your feet and disappeared. The laws of this world dictate that everyone needs a shadow. If you don’t have one, one will be found for you. Replacement shadows. The echo of a shadow. A person filling in for a shadow. Everyone needs to work, even shadows.

Your shadow is silver. It’s a beautiful color that shimmers when caught in the light, but you only ever catch it in your peripheral and then it’s gone.

Your shadow is more like a stalker.

It creeps after you, a slow crawl across the terrain. It follows your every move. It waits for you, always a few steps behind. This shadow has eyes and a mouth. It smiles at you in the dark, but you can’t see that.

“You’re doing a rubbish job,” you say, knowing your shadow is listening.

They really should fire the guy who’s working temporarily as your shadow.

He’s not very good at it.

Your own shadow isn’t supposed to scare you.

It’s the projection of a second shadow that should.

The shadow that shouldn’t be there.

DREAM JOURNAL; LOG 04 - fever dream.

You’re sick.

You bathe in tubs of soup. You suck the salt from your sweat and cry blood. You lean over to find the bucket at your bedside and you empty your guts in an ugly, retching wheeze. You sit up in bed like a reanimated corpse and cough out one of your lungs.

You slip in and out of the folds of a strange dream.

Heat. And then cold. Blankets off. You’re awake.

But then you’re sleeping. Blankets back on. You feel a warm compress drape itself over your forehead. Someone rubs their knuckles against your cheek.

“Get well soon,” the flowers left at your bedside whisper, petals fluttering against your lashes.

You laugh at the sun, which isn’t really a sun but a singular eyeball peering down at you. “My imagination is so wild,” you say, or maybe you think it. The grass is so soft here. You never want to wake up. Here, the cotton candy clouds weep caramel and the trees sway in jovial greeting.

You’re awake again. The curtains have been shut. You rest your head against the pillow once more.

You’re lying on your back in the grass. Silver rabbits jump over you, making a game out of how high they can jump if they get a running start. It’s so peaceful here. The stream is crisp and clear, babbling softly over water-worn stones.

The sky is silver. The grass is silver. The rabbits are still silver. It’s all silver.

Silver.

You wake to find the silver-haired man standing at the end of your bed.

He smiles. “I’m not so imaginary anymore, my darling.”

You blink and you’re back asleep.

It’s so quiet.

Are you still dreaming?

[pyretta666]

IN BED WITH…TYPE O NEGATIVE (transcribed) he’s into rubber! he’s into fur! christ, he’s even into getting his willy out for playgirl magazine! stand proud type o negative mainman peter steele, and prepare to be undressed by slyvie simmons!

KERRANG!: when were you first aware of the birds and the bees?

PETER STEELE: "when i was about 12 years old, i had a very outgoing older friend who had no problem any time he was excited to take his penis out and just masturbate. so i had a go - and sure enough, i came!

K!: when did you lose your virginity and what was it like?

PS: "i was 18 years old and she was 16; we were both virgins. the only problem was her hymen was still intact and i had some difficulty inserting myself into her. i was downstairs in my parents' basement, and i ran upstairs and got some corn oil - that's all we had - and as i was lubricating myself i dropped the bottle on the floor! i didn't want to lose my erection, so i ran downstairs covered in corn oil, leaving the glass on the kitchen floor. the sex was almost over as quickly as it began!"

K!: do you practice safe sex? PS: "yes i do. there have been some accidents of course - things split - but i think i get an a for effort."

K!: do you get off on pornography? PS: "not really. if i'm going to get excited, there are plenty of women that i'd like to spend my time with: i don't have to look at books."

K!: why did you pose for playgirl magazine then? and what gave you the enormous hard on?! PS: "i did it to further type o negative's career. i figured i would be exposing myself - no pun intended! - to a whole new audience. and sure enough it definitely affected record sales. i had some manual stimulation and a catalogue of erotic thoughts i can easily access that kept me going."

K!: your todger looks enormous in playgirl - were the photos retouched? PS: rumor has it that my penis is not real in those shots - which is a compliment and an insult at the same time. there were no tricks. i'm 6ft 6 and i'm proportional. everything on me happens to be very long and thin - my fingers, my ears, my toes, and of course what hangs between my legs. it's like a package deal."

K!: are you a whips and chains kind of guy? PS: "my only rule in bed is never to say no - unless it includes excruciating pain or long-lasting damage. i like latex and fur, things that feel good to me sexually. i was always turned on by rubber - the feel of it, the smell of it, even the taste."

K!: are you a considerate bed partner? PS: "i'm a pretty good playmate. i really don't mind if i don't come - it's not a big deal to me. i've come probably 100,000 times already, so my partner's pleasure comes way before mine."

K!: how does that gel with songs like 'jackhammer rape?' PS: "it probably doesn't. of course it's not about raping anyone with a jackhammer, it's just screwing somebody so hard. when i wrote that, i was really really pissed off at somebody. i'm also into shock value."

K!: have you ever paid for - or been paid - for sex? PS: "i have never paid for sex and never will. i definitely think there's trade-offs though. if you want to be physical with somebody, you can pay them with other things - by caring about them." "but i've had offers from women to pay me. when i used to work with the new york city parks department as a maintenance worker, this woman i had seen there every day for about two weeks came over to me. she asked me how much money i made per year and i told her $40,000. and she said, 'how would you like to make that in one night?' i said, 'what do i have to do?'. what she wanted was a sperm sample."

K!: you took her up on it? PS: "yes i did. but i haven't seen the result."

K!: do you know where the woman's g-spot is? PS: "well, honestly i don't know. but i think i've found spots a to f!"

[ihazyourkitty]

No, dire wolves are not back from extinction. They simply genetically modified two grey wolf pups with 14 genes from the dire wolf. That's not a de-extinction, that's just an exercise in CRISPR technology. Don't get me wrong, that's still a rather cool thing, but man the media hype.... it's so misleading.

What's also misleading is a certain factoid being spread around by critics of this project. "Dire wolves are more closely related to jackals than to grey wolves!"

No. No they are not. Grey wolves are more closely related to jackals than to dire wolves!

I think this comes from a misunderstanding of how to read phylogenetic trees. See, it's a recent 2021 study analyzing mtDNA and some genomic DNA from dire wolf fossil samples that suggests dire wolves diverged from canids like grey wolves 5.7 million years ago, with their similarities to modern wolves being an example of convergent evolution.

This was the phylogenetic tree proposed by said study:

I think part of what happened was that people saw: "hey look, the dire wolf and the jackal branches are right next to each other, but the grey wolf is all the way down there. So that must mean dire wolves are more closely related to jackals!"

Nooooooo! No no no no no NO! That's not how you read phylogenetic trees!

Two branches sitting right next to each other =/= closely related. You need to trace the branches back to their most recent common ancestor, aka, look for where on the tree the branches share a node.

If you do that, you'll notice that the common ancestor wolves and jackals share is more recent than the common ancestor jackals and other canids like wolves share with dire wolves. The common ancestor between wolves and jackals (and all other species between them) was about 5.1 million years ago. Meanwhile, the common ancestor between dire wolves vs. jackals, grey wolves, etc. was 5.7 million years ago.

This divergence suggests that the dire wolf lineage evolved independently from the other color coded species on this tree. It also suggests that admixture (interbreeding) between dire wolves and other canids happened no sooner than 3 million years ago, whereas there has been much more recent admixture between wolves and coyotes for instance.

It should also be noted that this is just one study with its own limitations. For instance, of the dire wolf samples tested, only 5 had enough intact genomic data to work with, as genomic DNA degrades more rapidly than mtDNA. More research is needed to confirm these findings. Science is not a one and done thing with just one paper.

Here's the original paper (behind a paywall unfortunately):

And here's a decent blog summary of said paper: https://www.patentdocs.org/2021/01/dire-wolf-dna-shows-distinct-new-world-lineage.html

This whole saga, from exaggerated claims of de-extinction to misleading claims about proposed phylogenic relationships, is honestly yet another example of poor science communication in the media. What we need isn't more clickbait. What we need is better scientific literacy. A big ask I know......

[caffeinatedvigilantewriter]

This has a lot of de aging and if you don’t like that, scroll :))

So Danny, Jazz, Dante (Dan) and Ellie (Dani) all get deaged (either by the Fentons or GIW)

Jazz is now 9, Danny is now 7, Dante is now 11 and Ellie is 5.

Their memories are somewhat intact, but they don’t really remember who they are. (All have their halfa/liminal powers)

They somehow escape and end up being separated (via powers, ghostly meddling, etc)

Jazz ends up in Bludhaven

Danny in San Francisco

Dante in Crime Alley

and Ellie in Gotham

So in this AU, all the Batboys are adults

Dick is 38, Jason 35, Tim is 32, and Damian 23.

And in this AU, they just had a huggeeeeee argument with each other and with Bruce, so they’re not speaking much.

Nightwing across a girl no older than 9 fending off three adult men with ease. Definitely a meta human. Dick ends up taking the kid home when he realizes she wants revenge (from what, Dick doesn’t know) and he sees too much of himself in the kid to let her go. Wally and Jazz get along great.

Jason feels someone watching him, and he confronts them only to find aggravated it’s an 11 year old boy, with white hair just like him. After the kid drops some concerning information about Jason’s dead status (Dante telling Jason he’s liminal). Lian won’t mind a new brother, right?

Kon comes across a scared kid, who ends up throwing him into a car before he calms down and introduces himself as Danny. Kon brings him home and he and Tim sets up the spare bedroom with space blankets.

Damian, patrolling as Blackbird, comes across a girl in a dumpster, having fallen in on accident. When Damian pulls her out, she begins melting in his arms before regaining solidness and passing out. There’s no sign of the girls parents anywhere, so Damian takes her in. At least Jon likes her

A few months, the GIW came to the Justice League to inform them about four dangerous ghosts that escaped confinement and are now running free. They need the Leauges help to recapture them.

Bruce doesn’t buy it. After asking to see a sample of ‘ectoplasm’, he realizes all of his kids are ecto entities and have no basic human rights.

He calls a family meeting and watches as four of his sons arrive with a kid each.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Canada shouldn’t retaliate with its US tariffs

Picks and Shovels is a new, standalone technothriller starring Marty Hench, my two-fisted, hard-fighting, tech-scam-busting forensic accountant. You can pre-order it on my latest Kickstarter, which features a brilliant audiobook read by Wil Wheaton.

Five years ago, Trump touted his "big, beautiful" replacement for NAFTA, the "free trade agreement" between the US, Mexico and Canada. Trump's NAFTA-2 was called the USMCA (US-Mexico-Canada Agreement) and it was pretty similar to NAFTA, to be honest.

That tells you a couple things: first, NAFTA was, broadly speaking a good thing for Trump and the ultra-wealthy donors who backed him (and got far richer as a result). That's why he kept it intact. NAFTA and USMCA are, at root, a way to make rich people richer by making poorer people poorer. Trump's base hated NAFTA because they (correctly) believed that it was being used to erode wages by chasing cheaper labor and more lax environmental controls in other countries. Neither NAFTA nor USMCA have any stipulations requiring exported goods to be manufactured by unionized workers, or in factories with robust environmental and workplace safety rules.

The point of NAFTA/USMCA is to goose profits by despoiling the environment, maiming workers, stealing their wages, paying them less, all while poisoning the Earth. Trump's "new" NAFTA was just the old NAFTA with some largely cosmetic changes so that Trump's base could be (temporarily) fooled into thinking Trump was righting the historic wrong of NAFTA.

However, there was one part of USMCA that marked a huge departure from NAFTA: the "IP" chapter. USCMA bound Canada and Mexico to implementing brutal new IP laws. For example, Mexico was forced to pass an anti-circumvention law that makes it a crime to tamper with "digital locks." This means that Mexican mechanics can't bypass the locks US car companies use to lock-out third party repair. Mexican farmers can't fix their own tractors. And, of course, Mexican software developers can't make alternative app stores for games consoles and mobile devices – they must sell their software through US Big Tech companies that take 30% of every sale:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/09/free-sample/#que-viva

Shamefully, Canada had already capitulated to most of these demands. Two Canadian Conservative Party politicians, Tony Clement and James Moore, had sold the country out in 2012, throwing away 6,138 negative responses to a consultation on a new DRM law (on the grounds that they were "babyish" views of "radical extremists"), siding instead with the 54 cranks and industry shills who supported their proposal:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/15/radical-extremists/#sex-pest

When Canadian politicians are pressed on why these anti-interoperability policies are good for Canada, they'll say that it's a condition of free trade, and the benefits of being able to export Canadian goods to the US without tariffs outweigh the costs of having to pay rents to American companies for consumables (like car parts or printer ink), repair, and software sales.

Sure, when Canadian software authors sell iPhone apps to Canadian customers, the payments take a round trip through Cupertino, California and return 30% short. But Canadian consumers get to buy iPhones without paying tariffs on them, and the oil, timber, and minerals we rip out of the ground can be sent to America without tariffs, either (oh, also, a few things that are still manufactured in Canada can do this, too).

Enter Trump, carrying a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods, which he has vowed to impose on his first day in office. Obviously, this demands a policy response. What should Canada do when Trump tears up his "big, beautiful" trade deal and whacks Canadian exporters? One obvious response is to impose a 25% retaliatory tariff on American exporters:

https://mishtalk.com/economics/canada-says-it-will-match-us-tariffs-if-trump-launches-trade-war/

After all, Canada and the US are one another's mutual largest trading partners. American businesses rely on selling things to Canadians, so a massive tariff on US goods will certainly make some of Trump's business-lobby backers feel pain, and maybe they'll talk some sense into him.

I think this would be a huge mistake. The most potent political lesson of the past four years is that politicians who preside over rising prices – regardless of their role in causing them – will swiftly feel the wrath of their voters. The public is furious about inflation, whether it comes from transient covid supply chain shocks, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, or cartels using "inflation" as cover for illegal, collusive price-gouging.

Canadians are very reliant on American imports of finished goods. That's another legacy of NAFTA: it crashed Canada's manufacturing sector. Canadian manufacturing companies treated the US as a "nearshore" source of non-union labor and weak environmental and safety rules, and shipped Canadian union jobs to American scabs. Canada's economy is supposedly now all about "services" but what we really export is stuff we tear out of the Earth.

Countries that are organized around resource extraction don't need fancy social safety nets or an educational system capable of producing a high-tech workforce. All you need to extract resources is a hole in the ground surrounded by guns, which explains a lot about shifts to the Canadian political climate since the Mulroney years.

Since Canada is now substantially reorganized as an open-pit mine for American manufacturers, cutting off American imports would drive the prices of everyday good sky-high, and would be political suicide.

But there's another way.

Because, of course, Canada – like any other country – has the capacity to make all kinds of things, including high-tech things. Sure, it's unlikely that Canada will launch another Research in Motion with a Blackberry smart-phone that will put the iPhone and Android in the shade. The mobile duopoly has the market sewn up, and can use predatory pricing, refusal to deal, and other anticompetitive tactics to strangle any competitor in its cradle.

But you know what Canada could make? A Canadian App Store. That's a store that Canadian software authors could use to sell Canadian apps to Canadian customers, charging, say, the standard payment processing fee of 5% rather than Apple's 30%. Canada could make app stores for the Android, Playstation and Xbox, too.

There's no reason that a Canadian app store would have to confine itself to Canadian software authors, either. Canadian app stores could offer 5% commissions on sales to US and global software authors, and provide jailbreaking kits that allows device owners all around the world to install the Canadian app stores where software authors don't get ripped off by American Big Tech companies.

Canadian companies like Honeybee already make "front-ends" for John Deere tractors – these are the components that turn a tractor into a plow, or a thresher, or another piece of heavy agricultural equipment. Honeybee struggles constantly to get its products to interface with Deere tractors, because Deere uses digital locks to block its products:

https://honeybee.ca/

Canada could produce jailbreaking kits for John Deere tractors, too – not just for Honeybee. Every ag-tech company in the world would benefit from commercially available, professionally supported John Deere jailbreaking kits. So would farmers, because these kits would restore farmers' Right to Repair their own tractors:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

Speaking of repair: Canadian companies could jailbreak every make and model of every US automobile, and make independent, constantly updated diagnostic tools that every mechanic in the world could buy for hundreds of dollars, rather than paying the five-figure ransom that car makers charge for their own underpowered, junk versions of these tools.

Jailbreaking cars doesn't stop with repair, either. Cars like the Tesla are basically giant rent-extraction machines. If you want to use all the "features" your Tesla ships with – like access to the full charge on your battery – you have to pay tens of thousands of dollars in subscription fees over the life of the car, and when you sell your car, all that "downloadable content" is clawed back. No one will pay extra to buy your used Tesla just because you spent thousands on manufacturer upgrades, because they're all downgraded when you sign over the pink slip.

But Canadian companies could make jailbreaking kits for Teslas that unlock all the features in the car for a single low price – and again, they could sell these to every Tesla owner in the world.

Elon Musk doesn't invent anything, he just takes credit for other people's ideas, and that's as true of bad ideas as it is for good ones. Musk didn't invent the extractive Tesla rip-off: he stole it from inkjet printer companies like HP, who have used the fact that jailbreaking is illegal to turn printer ink into the most expensive fluid in the world, selling for more than $10,000/gallon.

Canadian companies could sell jailbreaking kits for inkjet printers that disconnect them from "subscription" services and disable the anti-features that check for and reject third party ink. People all over the world would buy these.

What's standing in the way of a Canadian industrial policy that focuses on raiding the sky-high margins of American monopolists with third-party add-ons, mods and jailbreaks?

Only the IP laws that Canada has agreed to in order to get tariff-free access to American markets. You know, the access that Trump has promised to end in less than a week's time?

Canada should tear up these laws – and not impose tariffs on American goods. That way, Canadians can still buy cheap American goods, and then they can save billions of dollars every year on the consumables, parts, software, and service for those goods.

This is hurting American big business where it hurts – in the ongoing rents it extracts from Canadians through IP laws like Bill C-11 (the law that bans jailbreaking). Canada could become a global high-tech export powerhouse, selling "complementary" goods that disenshittify all the worst practices of US tech monopolists, from car parts to insulin pumps.

It's the only kind of trade war that Canadian politicians can win against Americans: the kind where prices for Canadians don't go up because of tariffs; where the price of apps, repair, parts, and upgrades goes way down; and where a new, high-tech manufacturing sector pulls in vast sums from customers all over the world.

Canada can win this kind of war, even against a country as big and powerful as the USA. After all, we did it once before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CK3EDncjGI

Check out my Kickstarter to pre-order copies of my next novel, Picks and Shovels!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/15/beauty-eh/#its-the-only-war-the-yankees-lost-except-for-vietnam-and-also-the-alamo-and-the-bay-of-ham

[secularprolifeconspectus]

BREAKING: new records expose that Planned Parenthood will sell body parts from healthy, viable babies to universities for intellectual property.

In a batch of freshly released FOIA documents, journalist David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress has pieced together a horrifying reality: Planned Parenthood harvests organs from viable, nonanomalous fetuses with documented heartbeats from abortions with labor induction for research at the University of California San Diego in exchange for IP rights. In other words, PP dissects healthy premies who are old enough to live outside the womb after making sure they are alive and delivering them intact, per their contract with UCSD, in which PP gets to keep all royalties for patents developed from experiments. And the Spanish-speaking mothers didn't give informed consent to this. In other words, and they prey on vulnerable minorities for their babies.

How do I know this is true? It's because I am the associate reporter in this video, and David emailed me the documents to read for myself.

Evidence includes:

Transfer agreement outlining the exchange of fetal tissue for ownership of research IP

Research plan approved by the UCSD Institutional Review Board requesting organ samples from nonanomalous fetuses up to 23 weeks gestation (that's nearly 6 months old; periviability begins at 21 weeks)

Same research plan calling for verification of a heartbeat immediately before the procedure to ensure the fetuses are living (this keeps their tissues fresh; the fetuses cannot be given a feticide to "euthanize" (poison) them before the procedure, because this would contaminate the tissues; this means the fetuses are either bled out or dismembered alive)

Did I mention this plan calls for up to 2,500 samples from 2,500 fetuses?

Email chain discussing the use of heavy doses of misoprostol before abortions after 12.5 weeks (forces labor contractions to deliver the baby — may result in live birth)

Donation consent forms in English which state the tissue may be used commercially, but in Spanish exclude this info entirely (San Diego has a large immigrant population, so this is racist targeting)

No, I cannot say for certain that PP actually did cut up healthy premies. But I am saying, it is documented that they were willing to do so, and that should be enough to cause alarm.

Protecting premature infants is a nonpartisan human rights issue. Everyone should be outraged about this violation of the vulnerable.

I've had folks suggest to me before that this is just a few "bad actors", but they're missing the bigger picture of how the abortion industrial complex enables these crimes. It is a natural outcome of the system, and it must be dismantled. You cannot permit elective abortion without permiting violence against premature infants. Tell your representatives to divest from Big Abortion NOW.

[mindblowingscience]

For biologists, seeing is believing. But sometimes biologists have a hard time seeing. One particularly vexing challenge is seeing all the molecules in an intact tissue sample, down to the level of single cells, simultaneously. Detecting the location of hundreds or thousands of biomolecules—from lipids to metabolites to proteins—in their native environment allows researchers to better understand their functions and interactions. Unfortunately, scientists don't have great tools to accomplish this task. Now a multi-institutional research team has developed a tissue expansion method that enables scientists to use mass spectrometry imaging to simultaneously detect hundreds of molecules at the single cell level in their native locations. Their paper is published in the journal Nature Methods.

Continue Reading.

[bird-in-the-space]

Bayverse Version (Part 2)

(Author's note: Since some of you asked. Here's part 2. I couldn't find any good gifs.)

You wake up from unconsciousness and find yourself in some kind of government base called the NEST. There, you meet Que, an Autobot scientist, and discover that you have become a robot with no way to turn back into a human. Everything is a mess, and you are left to ponder your uncertain future.

Warnings: bad description of science stuff, you end up with a severe panic attack, hysteria, dumping on things and falling, your body functions not working properly, being cold, mentions of becoming a lab rat, and some comfort.

------------------------------------

You felt like you were numbly floating in a sea of darkness, enveloped by cold. Darkness was all you could see and hear. But then, you heard voices—distant and muffled. Suddenly, a warmth ignited within your chest. It felt as though you were being pulled from the darkness toward the surface, and then… you woke up.

A silent gasp left you as your eyes snapped open. The first thing you saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. Staring at it for a moment, you tried to grasp your bearings. You winced when you heard noises around you, then moved your head to see your surroundings. You were in some kind of a large room. It looked like a hangar, filled with military people and people in white coats. 

Silent panic began to settle in you as you knew you were not dreaming. Where were you? What was this place? 

“As you can see over here…” a voice said from the other side. 

You turned your head around and froze when you saw what seemed to be one of those robots. He was tall, and he honestly looked like a robot version of Albert Einstein. You then noticed an image on a large computer screen that showed a robotic body. 

“The endoskeleton structure around her upper torso is 15% similar to that of a human, and after I took a sample, I found traces of human DNA. I find it incredibly fascinating because cyberforming does not usually leave anything left of the body’s previous organic state,” the robot Einstein explained to the people around him, who took notes or looked at the screen with great fascination. 

You looked at him in stunned silence before realizing something. 

Wait, was he talking about you? 

When you tried to move your body, you noticed that you were strapped to a metallic bed of sorts. You also finally noticed that something was very different in your body. Your entire body… was now completely made out of metal. You were a robot. 

The shock hits you when you remember the attack and what followed after. 

Oh god… 

“Ah! I see she’s awake,” the Einstein robot exclaimed, looking at you. You looked back at him as the people also looked at you. 

“(Name), right?” the robot asked. 

“What the… fuck!” you uttered out loud, your voice having an odd metallic echo. 

“I know this might seem frightening, “ the robo-Einstein started. “But rest assured, you are in no danger. Please do excuse the restrains; the people here just wanted to ensure their safety while we inspect you and ensure there are no traces of Decepticon coding in your brain modules,” he explained. 

You looked at him with a confused frown. 

Decepticon coding? 

Your… brain modules? 

“What?!” you exclaimed. 

“Due to the Decepticons having the previous possession of the Allspark, they changed its coding so that any newborn transformer it brings to life will immediately think and fight like a Decepticon. But as I can see, your optics are blue, and you are speaking English. It seems your human consciousness is fully intact, allowing you complete control of your mind and body. Wonderful news despite your case and your body being completely mechanic now,” he explained, which explained nothing to you, and raised a question. 

“Everything?” you asked. 

“Yes. You no longer possess any organs or anything that relates to human functions. Minus your unique endoskeleton, you are completely cybertronian,” he answered. 

You began to feel numb as you became aware of everything that was missing from your body. You could not feel the flow of air into your lungs—because they were no longer there. A strange pulsing emanated from your chest, but it did not resemble the familiar beating of your heart. Your limbs and joints felt heavy—far heavier than you would have liked.

It felt wrong. 

Everything felt wrong. 

“Get me out…” you uttered, pulling against the restraints. 

“Hold on. We’ll make a few more tests, and then we can take the restraints off you,” the robo Einstein tried to assure you, but it only had the opposite effect. 

“Get me out! Now!” You yelled, pulling hard enough for one of the restraints to snap open, freeing one of your arms. 

It allowed you to sit up and pull the restraint from your other arm. You then took off the restraints on your legs. 

The people around you began yelling, calling on their radios as they backed away from you. 

After getting your legs free, you stood up from the metal bed, only to get hit with heavy disorientation and wobbly legs. It was like standing with noodle legs. 

“Oh! Well, I guess you’re standing then,” the robo Einstein commented. 

“Someone calm her down!” someone yelled as you struggled to stand, stumbling on your feet as your head spun around to grasp the control of your body. Everything is suddenly smaller, way too small. 

Your metallic legs dumped on some equipment, causing them to be pushed off their intended places or break. 

The military people and the scientists unhelpfully yelled, making the noises louder and causing your headache to become worse. 

You tried to avoid stepping on the people while trying to gain your balance, but it was difficult when they scurried around you like small rats, and your legs felt like heavy blocks of cement. 

The dizziness became hard enough to handle that you fell against the wall. You scrouched against it for a moment, regaining your bearings. But when you tried to straighten your back, you bumped your head against a walking platform above you. The people tripped from their feet from the hit. 

“Fuck!” you cursed, the pain in your head getting worse. 

Someone entered the hangar. “Wow! Wow! Wow! What’s going on, Que?! “ Lennox questioned when he entered the room with Emily. 

You then tripped your giant metallic feet on something, causing you to fall to the floor. You leaned up, releasing heavy breaths, which only added more panic. You were aware you no longer had lungs, yet your mind was frantically looking for them, to find anything familiar in your body. Tears began to streak down from your eyes as your mind was in complete hysteria. 

“Well… the good news is that her human consciousness seems completely intact, so I believe there is no danger of the Decepticon coding taking over,” the robo Einstein, Que, started. “But… “ he then looked over to you. 

You pushed your back against the wall, frantically heaving your chest and tears running out your eyes. 

“I guess her human mind is struggling to process the new body she’s in, especially after I told her she no longer has any familiar human bodily functions. I wasn’t aware it would cause such a strong panic reaction,” he continued. 

“Her EM field is completely off the limits,” he remarked. 

“So… I believe she’s having a mental breakdown,” he finished. 

“We need to get her to calm down before something gets damaged,” Lennox stated. 

“Perhaps a familiar face will be helpful to calm her down from the hysteria,” Que suggested. “Putting her into shutdown might only cause more unpleasant outcomes,” he added. 

Emily looked at you and ran to you. 

“Emily, wait!” Lennox said. 

Emily ignored it and stood in front of you. 

“Hey, hey, hey, (Name). It’s okay!” she stood in front of you. 

You looked at her, still shaking. 

“Em?!” you said. 

“Yeah! It’s me! I’m here,” she replied.

You managed to regain some control of your head to speak. “Emily! Where the fuck are we? What the fuck happened to me?!” you exclaimed, looking at your metallic hands. 

“It’s a bit difficult to explain,” Emily replied. “But right now, I need you to calm down, take deep breaths,” she said. 

“How? I don’t have lungs anymore?!” you questioned, your chest feeling tighter. 

“Just… do it anyway and follow my example,” she said. 

“Come on, breathe in,” she breathed in. 

You followed her example and breathed in.

 “And out,” she exhaled. 

You exhaled in pursuit. 

“Good, let’s do it again,” Emily encouraged, and you followed her example as she inhaled and exhaled. 

“Good. Good,” she said. 

You breathed in and out. Focusing on her helped you slowly calm down. Even though you were still aware of the missing lungs in your body, breathing and imagining having them helped your mind become clearer and less like a panicked rabbit hole. 

“Good. That’s my girl,” Emily said softly as you exhaled, becoming calm. You dried the tears from your eyes, which was the only familiar thing that brought you little comfort. However, your head was still aching badly. 

Boneshilling cold then suddenly struck you. Your teeth clatter, and your entire body feels like one big icicle, causing you to shiver violently. 

“What’s wrong?” Emily asked when she saw you start shivering. 

“It’s so… fucking cold all of the sudden,” you clattered through your teeth. You even pulled your knees closer to you. 

“That might be one of the side effects of cyberforming. Your whole body is completely metallic, thus, you might feel a great drop in temperature as your mind begins to adjust to the body,” the Que explained. “I guess it would be a typical side effect when a being from a different species becomes a transformer,” he added. 

“I have no idea what the fuck that means,” you said clattering your teeth. 

Your eyes then notice a man slowly approaching you. It was your dad. 

“Dad?” you questioned, shivering. 

He looked at you, shocked when he heard your voice. 

“(Name)? It’s actually you?” he asked. 

“Well… after I took a sample from her exoskeleton, the results showed small traces left of her DNA, which were enough to match with her identity. That is indeed your human offspring, (Name) (Lastname),” Que answered, showing an image on a computer that seemed to be your profile. 

“What… how did this even happen?” your father questioned. 

“I believe that after the Allspark fragment activated, it fused her mind and body with her friend’s vehicle, allowing her to return as a transformer. I'm not entirely sure,” Que explained. “This makes it a fascinating phenomenon, as nothing like this has ever been recorded in our history regarding the Allspark,” he added. 

“Yeah, Mister Que, I don’t think that’s helpful right now. “ Emily turned toward him. 

“How about we first let her adjust and tell her what’s going on?” she suggested. “I mean (Name) doesn’t even know about the NEST or Autobots yet,” she added. 

You frowned. 

“Autobots?” you questioned. 

You then looked at your father and Lennox. “What are Autobots?” you asked. 

When they didn’t answer, you asked another question. “What is this place?” 

Your father and Lennox glanced at each other. “Well… I guess it’s better to tell you everything now that you are a transformer too,” Lennox stated. 

The robot Albert Einstein, or Que, got you one of those large metallic space covers that worked as a warming blanket to fight off your shivering joints. Then he, your dad, Lennox, and Emily filled you in on everything. Apparently, you were in a government base called NEST, a group of people who worked with an alien race called the Autobots to fight against a faction of their kind called the Decepticons, who started an ancient war on their planet. The Decepticons were the robots that attacked you and tried to get the fragment of the thing called the Allspark in your necklace, and that fragment was the reason you turned into a giant robot. 

You nearly couldn’t believe what you were hearing. But since now you were this cybertronian thing, there was nothing you could use to deny it. Even though you really wished this was just a bad dream. 

“So, let me get this straight…” You started after they finished. “Some years ago, there was this magic space rocks you guys fought over in New York. Then it shattered in the progress, becoming fragments, one of those fragments ending up in Emily’s father’s hand who unknowingly turned them into our necklaces, caused these Decepticons to attack us, and is also the reason why I fused with Emily’s car?” you questioned.

“Correct, or that is the theory, at least,” Que nodded. “Which is why this is a unique case. The Allspark has the power to bring life to all metallic beings. In theory, when the fragment awakened, it should have only brought your friend’s car to life, but somehow it brought you back, fusing your body with the car and giving you a spark with your human mind intact,” he explained. 

“Is there a way… you know? Undo this?” you asked. “Turn me back into a human?” 

“Well… that’s the issue. Que said it’s not possible,” Emily said. 

“What?” You glanced at her. 

“Emily is correct. The Allspark is designed to give life. It doesn’t have the power to undo it. Also, technically, your now body is fused with whatever remained of your human body. Even if there was a way to undo it, I’m afraid there would be nothing left of your former body except bones. You are, in a human sense, dead,” Que clarified. 

“So, I’m stuck like this forever?” you asked. 

“Yes,” he nodded. 

“Great! Absolutely great!” you threw your hands around with a sarcastic tone. 

“But— our existence as a cybertronian is not all that bad, save for the Decepticons, who might try to kill you here and then. You will find many useful perks, and you can now do things most humans can’t,” Que tried to sound positive. 

“And what if I don’t want any of that?” You asked, your tone laced with silent bitterness. “What if I want to be human again and go home?” you asked. 

“I’m afraid that is currently not possible,” Lennox said. 

“Wonderful. So, now what? Am I going to be a lab rat now to see how this works?” you asked. 

“Prime and the other Earth executives are already discussing your situation. Now that you have awoken and shown no signs of being afflicted by the Decepticon coding, thus pose no threat to us. I believe you will be placed under our care.” Que explained.

“This Optimus? He’s the leader of your Autobot gang?” you asked. 

“Correct. Do you want to meet him and the others?” Que asked, nearly sounding positive. 

“You know what? No.” you shook your head. “This is already too much, and I need to process the reality that I’m forever stuck like this,” you stated. 

“Can we do that later?” 

“Sure. That’s reasonable enough. It might be good for you to have time for yourself to process this and get used to this new body,” Que said. 

“I’ll report to the others about your condition. If you don’t mind, our medic, Ratchet, would like to examine your wounds. You took quite a hit after attacking that Decepticon,” Que said. “There’s no need to worry—he’s a capable medic. He’s already patched up your external wounds, but I think it would be wise to check for any internal damage.”

“Okay,” you uttered.

“Excellent. I’ll send him in soon,” Que said as he left the room. 

Lennox and your father exchanged looks. “This is a difficult situation. I have no doubt the higher-ups will want to investigate this further and conduct research on (Name),” he said.

“To hell with that! That’s my kid. I won’t let them turn her into some kind of lab rat,” your father snapped.

“Then we should start working on convincing them to let the bots take her into their custody,” Lennox suggested.

“Good idea. I’d feel a lot more comfortable with them looking after her than these people,” your father agreed before turning to you.

“It’s going to be alright,” he reassured you.

“Dad… what about Mom? Does she even know what’s happened?” you asked.

“I…” He fell silent. “She’s been calling, telling you haven’t come home yet. I’ll tell her once we figure this out.”

“Okay…” you murmured as he left the hangar.

Once he was gone, you let out a sigh and rubbed your head. Great. You were now a robot. There was an entire alien robot race, and on top of that, you might become a test subject for these people.

This was too much. Way too much.

“Hey…” Emily caught your attention. “I know this is scary. Believe me, I freaked out too when I found out our government has been working with aliens to fight other aliens,” she said.

“They took my fragment away for safety reasons,” she added.

“Good for you. I guess you got your wish about meeting robot aliens. Too bad I had to become your car in the middle of it,” you said.

“I don’t care about the car or the fact that you’ve technically become one with it,” she replied firmly.

“Em, look at me. I’m stuck like this. I just found out there’s an alien war happening, and now I’m technically one of them. How the hell am I supposed to deal with this?” you asked.

“The Autobots are good, at least. I had the chance to meet them while you were still out cold.“ Emily said. “They’re nice, especially Optimus. I think he feels bad about what happened because you were an innocent civilian that got pulled into this, and I think he would not allow you to become a lab rat either.” 

“So— I think you’re in good hands here,” she added. 

You glanced at her, and she seemed certain. 

“If you say so,” you murmured.

“Still… I don’t know. If I would have rather stayed dead than become this,” you said, looking at your robotic hands. 

“Well, I’m glad you came back,” Emily said, wrapping her hand around your finger. “I’d rather see you come back alive than not at all.”

“And if you hadn’t, Lennox and I would’ve probably died too,” she added.

“Even after becoming a robot, you still jumped in to protect me. Remember?”

“Oh…” you murmured as the memory of that robot trying to kill them resurfaced.

“And… you kicked that con’s ass. And bought enough time for the Autobots to show up and finish the job,” she said. 

“It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this one out,” she said. 

“Thanks Em… I love you,” you murmured. 

“I love you too, buddy,” she smiled. 

Despite the absurdity of the situation—and the lingering hope that this was just a bad dream—having Emily with you made it a little easier to bear.

Then, that ache in your head returns. Your gaze shifted toward the entrance as you felt those strange presences again. Something deep inside told you they were the Autobots, the robots. The thought made your anxiety spike. You were not eager to meet them soon, yet you knew you would have to eventually. You hoped Emily was right about them being nice. 

You then remembered that odd dream and the voices you heard when everything became dark. You could not remember it clearly, but you did remember those voices, especially that one who told you to wake up. 

Who was that voice?

[lvrrinnie]

Here’s some headcanons I have for some Hermits.

Grian:

- Avian Grian likes to give his friends his old feathers. But only the pretty ones that are still intact and bright in color.

- He likes to perch on things and just watch his friends from a distance, he finds it very entertaining especially when his friends are getting frustrated with the thing they work on.

- Makes bird noises when he’s happy. Little chirps here and there.

Scar:

- He keeps shiny things one him all the time.

- Draws flowers and cute silly little things on every scars his friends have, to make them feel better about themselves.

- Always has snacks with him.

Mumbo:

- His fingertips are always stained red from all of the redstone he works with.

- Has a whole routine to keep his moustache in a perfect state.

- Drinks only black coffee. No sugar. And he enjoys the taste of it.

Tango:

- Always got redstone dust streaks on his face.

- When he was the Dungeon Master, his clock has fluffy and very warm since it was freezing in Decked out. Liked it because he could just hid his face with the fur that was on the edges of his hood.

- Very pale skin since he’s always inside, working on something.

Etho:

- He’s an artic fox hybrid.

- Cold hands almost all the time, yet somehow he is never cold; not even when he’s knees deep in the snow, just sitting there, because he likes snow and the smell of winter.

- Has more scars besides the one of his eye, most of them are on his hands and arms. Accidents from all of the projects he created/worked on.

Xisuma:

- Knows how to bleach bones and how store them the right way. (Not for weird reasons, just because I like the idea of Xisuma having a guitar made out of bones.)

- Always running on like 3 hours of sleep. That when his insomnia or his work don’t keep him awake for days.

- Picks flowers and makes little bouquets out of them, having one in almost every single room in his base. (I also like to believe he made Cleo’s flower crown.)

Doc:

- Believes that he can tame every single dangerous mob to exists. (And he’s successful in his task.)

- Other Hermits pestered him about getting new lab coat since his is tattered and old, but he’s emotionally attached to it because it was his first lab coat and just can’t get rid of it, no matter the stage the poor thing is in.

- Sampled at least once every single potion or liquid substance he ever made, just to be sure that if any of his friends somehow managed to ingest his creations, they will not be harmed by them. He also keeps the dangerous ones locked away and out of reach.

That’s it for now, maybe I will post some more about the other hermits since I have a lot of them.

[hunters-vigil]

Marry Me - Mavuika x fem!Reader

request: if you're accepting requests, could i request a fic where mavuika is planning to propose to her very shy gf, but her gf ends up unexpectedly proposing first? thank you!

A/n: this request gave me a lot of happy thoughts, it's also vague enough that you could read it through the lens of a modern!AU if you wanted to. Not sure if I made the reader shy enough but definitely flusters easily and can succumb to peer pressure... not to be associated with any writing from The Archon's Baby universe. Enjoy<3 happy early valentines to anyone who reads this...

Fic under the cut, don't repost my stuff on other platforms, i have ao3. Reader is not the traveller.

She had been planning this for a while now, sneakily gathering all the details she needed to make her proposal to you perfect. She knew you weren't one for the spotlight, so a proposal in front of everyone would no doubt leave you uncomfortable...

It needed to be private, it needed to be perfect, if it all went well... you will say yes, and you would be granting Mavuika the honour of marrying her...

But there were still some things she needed to arrange. Commissioning a ring from Xilonen, she had drawn up designs down to the most specific details, and getting your ring size had been...

It had taken Mavuika a couple of attempts to get your ring size, unable to get anyone to help or distract you for her to get it undetected, but her attempt to find your rings had fallen flat, finding that you were wearing them instead. Another option was to try with her own rings, while some were designed to fit over her gloves, Mavuika had others that would work.

"Is there something wrong? You're... staring at my hands? They're clean, I swear-" you could feel embarassment tingle in your bones as you tried to continue eating dinner, but Mavuika's gaze had been locked on you for a while now.

"No, no, it's not that, I just- is that one new?" Mavuika gestured to a random accessory that didn't seem super familiar to her.

"Hm, oh, it was a birthday present, I found it in some stuff... is there something wrong with your magmic ode?" you changed the subject quickly, noticing how Mavuika's favourite dish was currently still intact.

"Ah, I was distracted by your beauty," Mavuika's tone turned playful as you began to shy away, mumbling to eat her dinner. Gods above, Mavuika adored you.

She decided to try get your ring size while you were sleeping, but her first attempt at that didn't go well. She could recall it with ease, shaking her head at the memory.

Mavuika had rolled onto her side, believing you to be asleep as she woke up just before she needed to get up to begin her day. Her tasks were never-ending, but she loved any and all time she could spend with you.

"Oh-" the noise escaped her lips before she could help it, realising you were looking right at her with a soft smile, leaning in to press a quick kiss to her lips.

"Good morning..." you whispered, nuzzling closer as Mavuika let herself dissolve into your embrace. Her plan would need to wait for another time.

Her next attempt wasn't as perfect as Mavuika wanted it to be. The piece of string had gone easily around your finger as you slept, your deep breaths coaxing Mavuika into a sense of security. You hadn't woken up yet at least, carefully taking the string to try for the measurement, but she only could frown to herself. This wasn't super accurate, for her liking, or for Xilonen to create an accurately sized piece.

Her third attempt was the one she was the most confident in, although Xilonen would most likely give her some grief over it. Four words. Multiple pieces of string. A bigger sample size would mean more possible validity when it came to the accuracy of measuring your ring size, right?

"Mavuika, seriously? Did you think to just ask for her ring size?"

"But then she would know what I'm doing, Xilonen. How can I surprise her with a proposal if she knows I'm planning on proposing?" Mavuika grumbled, standing in Xilonen's workshop as the smith went over the plans' details.

"You've put a lot of detail into this... just how long have you been planning to propose?"

"You'd be surprised." Mavuika replied ominously, but Xilonen only eyed something off to the side carefully when Mavuika wasn't looking.

"I doubt that..." Xilonen muttered under her breath, only hoping that you wouldn't turn up early to pick up your commissioned piece.

"Is something wrong?"

"Well, your timing could be better-" her ears twitched, hearing Nepecha happily talking to someone outside of her workshop, quickly rolling up the plans Mavuika had given her and grabbing an old one of Mavuika's sunglasses.

"Xilonen?" Mavuika raised an eyebrow, before turning her head, spotting Nepecha run through the door with her hand in yours, "uh-"

"Hey, I came to pick up that commission, but it can wait, you're clearly busy," giving Mavuika a quick grin, you nodded to Xilonen, who understood seamlessly, "Nepecha, come on, I'll play with you outside if you want?"

"Yeah, sounds good, I'll wrap up with Mavuika quickly. But, actually, Nepecha's been wanting to show you a piece she helped me with in the forge, so why don't you two run along while I deal with Mavuika, and her ability to break the unbreakable." Xilonen held your gaze for a moment, before looking to Nepecha, who gently tugged on your hand to lead you outside again.

"Nice save." Mavuika let out a breath of relief, unaware that she was not the only one who had needed saving.

It was only after Mavuika left, hopping on her bike to go talk to Iansan that you headed inside with Nepecha following you.

"Thanks for that. I knew she had broken some of her sunglasses, but I thought she already had them fixed by you." You let out a nervous chuckle, watching as Xilonen grumbled under her breath about Mavuika, before heading over to where she had finished your commission.

"It's all there, your design was nearly impeccable, just keep it hidden until you want to give it to her. Any ideas or plans for that?" Xilonen stated, opening the box to reveal the ring to you, a warmth in her chest developing as she saw your eyes light up.

"Thank you so much for this, it means a lot to me." You grinned brightly, carefully showing Nepecha the ring as she stood on her tip-toes to look, "and everything else is sorted, I just needed this and the final piece of the puzzle."

"What's the final piece?" Nepecha inquisitively asked, Xilonen gently kneading her ears with a soft smile.

"Mavuika is the final piece." You felt your cheeks warm up, knowing what you needed to do, but Mavuika's schedule could be unpredictable sometimes, and coordiating everything had taken some work.

Chasca had helped you scout out the perfect spot, and you had already spoken to Chanca at Zakan's Street Bites for advice on foods too... now you had the ring. All you needed to do was bring everything together, and bring Mavuika into the equation. Hopefully, the end result would be her saying yes.

///

Meanwhile, Mavuika had arrived at the beach to scout out locations with Iansan, Mualani being quick to join them.

"Of course, depending on the time of day you want to do this, you have to take into account where the tide will be, and the day itself, especially the weather, so, when are you planning on popping the big question?" Mualani rambled and skipped ahead, while Iansan and Mavuika followed her.

"I passed on my plans for a ring to Xilonen today, so the sooner she's done crafting it, the sooner I can ask my beloved for her hand in marriage." Mavuika explained, eyeing the beach carefully for the most perfect spot.

"She'll say yes, I have no doubts." Iansan affirmed, Mavuika grinning at the prospect, her hair almost spontaneously combusting with her excitement.

"I hope she says yes too."

///

"Thank you for helping me get everything set up... I know it's a bit more short notice than the original plan, but Mavuika was at Xilonen's today, and that sunglasses excuse was flimsy, so-"

"It's fine, don't worry about it. This is no trouble, plus Chuychu worries less about me when she knows we're hanging out. She's been saying for years that you're a good influence on me, somehow. Probably with how shy you can be."

"Anything to give your baby sister less heart attacks, hm?" you chuckled, fixing the picnic blanket down carefully, "not like we've been best friends for years or anything, Chasca. Wait, what do you mean 'somehow'?" you felt your body flare up with heat, still easily susceptible to your friends teasing you, even after knowing them for years.

"How about we focus on your proposal to Mavuika, rather than our messy childhoods? Since those will no doubt come up during the speeches anyway." Chasca shivered at the idea, while you grimaced visibly at the idea. Sitting through long speeches, all the attention on you... at least at your wedding, you could look at your wife?

"The elders know far too much about us all, don't let Citlali drink too much, okay? She always teases me when she's drink."

"You have a lot of faith in me that I can somehow stop her..." Chasca deadpanned, "Chuychu's here with the food. Want me to go track down your woman?"

"Track or hunt?" you chuckled, before your eyes widened, "track or hunt, Chasca?"

"She's going to be marrying my best friend, so-" Chasca replied, smirking until she was cut off.

"What do you mean 'your' best friend?" Chuychu pouted, having overheard as she carried the food for you and Mavuika.

"Whoah, okay, let's not start this again. Chasca, please bring Mavuika here, unharmed, and wearing something nice." You emphasised 'unharmed' as Chasca let out a playful huff that almost felt uncharacteristic of her, while Chuychu's pout disappeared the moment you turned to her, "thank you so much for bringing the food, you are a lifesaver. Mavuika was at Xilonen's today, so we're speeding up the plan."

"You're that worried?" Chuychu asked as she helped you arrange the food to keep it protected from the air until it was time.

"She had Kinich keep an eye on me earlier in the week, that was enough for me to realise she's up to something -what are you doing?" you froze as Chuychu's hand reached up to your face, staring at it in slight horror.

"Fixing your appearance, if you think I'm letting you propose with whatever that is, on your face, you are mistaken." Chuychu huffed as you tried to duck away from her hands, eventually she got to fix the issue, despite your squirming.

"Sometimes I forget who is supposed to be the older sister between you and Chasca- but then you pout like that and I see the little girl who just wanted saurian crackers so, I know it's you." You playfully pitched Chuychu's cheek as she pouted at you.

"You and Chasca are so- I can't believe I thought you were a good influence on her. You kept her quiet with your quietness." Chuychu grumbled as you let out a laugh.

"Correlation, not causation. Chasca hanging out with me meant she got into less fights, and it gave you less stress. Win, win, your parents approved of me too."

"Yet you're going to marry Mavuika." Chuychu deadpanned before shaking her head, "That's probably for the best, actually. I don't want to see you and Chasca kiss ever again. That one time at that party when we were younger was enough."

"Yeah, let's not go there... in my defense, it was Mualani's idea to play spin the bottle, then give me the puppy eyes when I tried to leave, also first kisses are awkward!" Chuychu gagged at that while you felt your body screaming to retreat into its metaphorical shell like a tortoise.

"You looked like you were ready to cry too, even if it was gross seeing my sister kiss *my* best friend, it would have been weird if it was anyone else, since we didn't even know Mavuika well enough yet."

"Speaking of, I think I can see Chasca on the horizon, so that means Mavuika is on her way here," You turned your head to acknowledge the younger girl, "you and Chasca are my best friends, you know."

"How can you see Chasca from here-Wait! So does that mean I could be your maid of honour? Or maybe a bridesmaid if you already asked Chasca, or Xilonen?" Chuychu asked, her eyes glowing with hope as you smiled shyly, opening your mouth to answer, but the incoming revving of an engine drowned out your thoughts. Mavuika was nearly here.

"How do I look? And we can talk wedding stuff as much as you want, as long as Mavuika says yes to marrying me," you hurriedly looked at Chuychu, who quickly adjusted one last thing before she hurried away to meet with Chasca nearby with a kamera in the bushes.

"You can do this!" Chuychu's exclaimation made you flinch, your face full of horror as a shaky breath escaped your lips. Slipping the box between your fingers, you checked that the ring was still there before hiding it in your pocket.

"My love? What's all this?" Mavuika looked over the set-up in front of her, biting the finger of her glove between her teeth to tug it off, followed by the other glove as you adjusted your footing, moving from one foot to the other nervously.

"Lunch?" your hand rubbed the back of your neck, your stomach trying to twist itself in knots, "I hope you've not eaten yet..."

"As a matter of fact, I haven't yet, so this is perfect timing," her sunshine eyes gazed over the foods, carefully removing the covers to see what was available, "and you got both of our favourites!"

"Of course," you felt heat creep into your cheeks, a soft smile crossing your face at the joy on Mavuika's, but the awareness that Chasca and Chuychu were nearby in the bushes, watching, had a nervousness running through you.

Did you propose now and let the food go cold, or wait and hope neither of you make a mess-

"Napkin?" Her smooth voice cut through the jaggedness of your thoughts, relief washing over you as you gave her a grateful smile, taking the napkin and gently unfolding it to lay in your lap.

"Did your conversation with Xilonen go well?" Mavuika asked nonchalantly as she covered the bowl of magmic ode, her favourite, while you moved the volcano cake, reaching for the grainfruit wraps.

Chuychu held back a sigh as she was stuck with her sister in a bush, trying not to watch you and Mavuika nearly feeding each other lunch, waiting for time to speed up so she could photograph the proposal instead.

Chasca's fingers tapped against her thigh as she waited, trying not to squirm too much even as her legs began to ache. Sitting still for so long wasn't exactly a strength of hers when having to watch something so... intimate.

You'd talked about your dates with Mavuika before, Chasca had even helped you get ready for your first one, reluctantly, since she knew how nervous you were, and worried that Mavuika would hurt you somehow.

How things had changed... unfortunately Chasca's reminiscing was cut short as Chuychu elbowed her in the ribs, gesturing to how you and Mavuika were done eating, tidied up the food, and had gotten up to observe the view better.

"Beautiful views like this... remind me that everything is worth it." Mavuika remarked quietly, her fingers brushing yours as she turned her head, catching your gaze resting on her.

"I like this view too." You chewed the inside of your cheek momentarily, your nerves getting the better of you as the weight of that little box in your pocket grew heavier.

"If only you were looking at the view, and not at me." Mavuika chuckled, squeezing your hand as you flicked your gaze away for a moment, looking back to meet her sunshine eyes.

"Well, I'm looking at the woman I'm in love with, so I think my view is even more beautiful than the view of Natlan." You stated unashamedly, a small grin on your face as Mavuika let out a nervous chuckle that felt almost uncharacteristic for her. The usually stoic woman who hid her playful side, yet somehow you were able to make her blush.

"Mavuika... I'm really glad you're here," keeping ahold of Mavuika's hands in yours, you were able to bypass the shaking of your fingers, squeezing her hands comfortingly as she gave you a soft smile in exchange. Relief flickered in your eyes as you were able to keep talking, no interruptions, no mistakes or fumbles, you were going to do this.

"I have loved every moment that I've spent with you, and I hope we can continue that going forwards, but as more than just girlfriends. Mavuika, I wondered if you would grant me the blessing of your hand in marriage, and the honour of becoming your wife?" you let go of Mavuika's hands, getting down on one knee and removing the little box with the ring from your pocket, opening it to show her.

"So that's what you've been up to," Mavuika let out a chuckle, her fingers gently hooking under your chin to look up at her, "I never predicted you would beat me to it and propose first, but yes, I would love to marry you, my love. If I could, I would marry you right here, right now, with Chasca and Chuychu as our witnesses."

Your eyes widened, turning your head to spot where Chasca and Chuychu were hiding with the kamera.

"Wow they could have picked a better bush to hide in..." you muttered to yourself, your face burning as Mavuika guided your gaze back to her, gesturing to the ring with her eyes, "ah, you said yes!"

"That I did," her face mirrored the joy on yours, as you helped her slip the ring onto her finger, "this design... it's beautiful."

"Ugh we should leave." Chasca grumbled as Mavuika pulled you in for a kiss that was lasting longer than necessary.

A yawn caught your attention as you broke away from Mavuika, turning your head to spot Xilonen in a nearby tree.

"Uh-" you raised an eyebrow, leaning into Mavuika's touch as she wrapped her arm around your waist, keeping you close.

"Xilonen, how quickly do you think you can make the ring for my fiancee?"

"Ugh, seriously? You gave me the plans this morning, while your fiancee gave me her plans weeks ago." Xilonen's eyes fluttered shut again, whether you'd accidentally picked one of her napping trees to propose near, or Xilonen went out of her way to witness your proposal... you had no idea, especially as Mavuika's eyes widened. Weeks ago? When- oh, near your anniversary...

"I sped up my plan when I realised you were up to something with Xilonen this morning. My speech probably could have been better but-"

"It was perfect, don't worry. But I still plan to propose to you in return, since you beat me to it." Mavuika's eyes lit up with a competitive fire as she made her declaration, only getting distracted as you pulled her in for another kiss.

"Told you you could do it." Chuychu interrupted, making you flinch into the kiss, hiding your face in your hands as Chasca let out a snort.

"We're leaving now, Xilonen, you coming?" Chasca looked up at where the name engraver began to move, climbing down the tree.

"Sure, sure, do you want to get some food? I know a place that does great barbecue, and alcohol." Xilonen suggested as she went to leave with Chasca and Chuychu, "congratulations you two."

"Now we're alone..." Mavuika smirked slightly, pulling you in for another kiss, "you surprised me today, I never expected you to propose first."

A hum escaped your lips as you leaned into her, "it took a lot of planning, but I'm glad it was worth it. I love you, Mavuika."

"I love you too, my fiancee." Mavuika grinned, holding you close as she looked into your eyes, "I can't wait to marry you."

[blueishspace]

Hero, Villain God 55

(Prev) (Next) (First)

*Grian's pov*

You sigh in relief, that was close... too close, you almost had to think about some of the stuff you really don't want to aknowledge.... Hopefully Joel doesn't get funny ideas from that.

Sure, you might have gotten a slight bit attached to one mortal...or two...but it's just more fun this way! Yes! Nothing more to it. Nothing at all... And well you don't need to justify yourself to him anyway! Who is he to question you? ... Outside of like being the literal sky.

You are digging your metaphorical hole deeper at this point.

...

ANYWAY, It's time to go back to your vessel now, It's been a long enough time that it shouldn't be too weird for you to wake up... Well it might still be but at this point you are too bored to care.

You just give it a bit of a push and you open your eyes.

Ugh, It's way too bright in here and now that you are back inside the body the pain has somewhat returned, going to have to fix that at one point tll. You never understood why humans were made to be so fleshy and weak and sickly in the first place...

You push yourself up on the medical bef, the muscle mass in the arms is mostly intact with minimal athropy luckily, the legs are pretty much the same so not an horrible state by mortal standards at least... The door to the room opens, It's a nurse... She seems shocked to see you awake, she quickly dashes to your bedside to check on some monitors near you...then after a few minutes of questions that you really didn't care about she nods and leaves to make a call...

Soon after Cub burst trough the door, covered from head to toe in water.

"Grian? I was told you were up."

"That I am ..."

You should probably be asking questions right, they think you have been unconcious for the last week or so.

"... What happened? The uh nurse that found me when I woke up didn't explain much."

There! Perfect! Now he thinks you are clueless and your divinity is once more kept secret, good job you!

"You ...got shot protecting Hotguy from a sniper"

"And how long was I...?"

"Oh just... A bit more less then two weeks"

"Hmm."

...

The silence that follows is akward, you just want to get this over with so you can leave and the two of you barely know eachother... You really want to ask about what the associations current plans are for you but you can't just ask that, you already made Cub suspicious with the blood samples way before everything went down...

...Ok maybe you can phrase it in a non-suspicious way, It's a better option then laying on the bed for who knows how long.

"So... What now?"

"Uh?"

"Can I like ...leave now?" That should sound earnest enough hopefully.

"What?"

Cub is not the expressive type, you have gathered that from the little you have seen of him. This is not an exception, he just tilts his head before giggling a bit, you really can't tell if It's genuine or not.

"Grian, you just woke up from a coma you- you can't just...you can't just get up and leave."

"Oh..."

Well then, you messed it up, he's -

"Where would you even get that idea? Is that something you have done before? Wake up from a possibly life ending injury and just leave?"

There is a right answer is. . . You don't know what that is, you have no clue what he wants you to say. So you do a bit of gambling.

"Yes yes, many times, all the time"

His smile falters a bit, this somehow feels more like genuine confusion or thought...he just looks at you, did you say the wrong thing? You should have just done the mind reading trick... No, you gave yourself a challenge, if you just used all your powers this wouldn't be any fun anymore.

...

He doesn't even say anything else he just keeps looking, you tilt your head a bit and it seems to bring him back.

"Right... Well, I'll be speaking with the medical staff then."

"Sure."

He slowly gets up and after a few seconds goes to open the door and leave... He stops just as he reaches for the door.

"And Grian?"

"Yeah?"

"Scar is worried, should -"

"Tell him to come by."

"Alright"

And like that he's gone.

*End of Chapter 10*

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Does spit contain mRNA? If so, would French kissing a Time Lord cause someone to share all of their memories?

Can a Time Lord read your memories through kissing?

Theoretically, yes—but it's not as simple (or romantic) as it sounds.

🧬 The Biology

Yes, human saliva does contain traces of mRNA. And yes, given the right conditions, Time Lords can interpret human memory RNA, using it to reconstruct emotional impressions or recall sequences from another being's life.

However:

The amount of mRNA present in saliva during casual contact is extremely small.

Memory RNA is not neatly packaged—it's fragmented, degraded, and heavily dependent on the tissues it came from.

Extracting a coherent memory requires focused biological intake, metabolic translation, and neural reassembly—all of which demand time, intent, and cellular integration.

A casual kiss—even of the French variety—is unlikely to transfer enough intact mRNA to reconstruct full memories. At best, a Time Lord might catch tiny emotional echoes:

A flash of a strong emotion

A hazy image

The lingering feeling that you really want cheese

Anything more would require deliberate, targeted biological sampling.

🏫 So...

If Time Lords could casually download your childhood just by snogging you, believe me, Gallifrey would have been much weirder than it already is.

Related:

💬|🥗👽Are there any foods that Gallifreyans can eat that humans can’t?: What foods Gallifreyans could eat that humans don’t, with some theoretical examples.

💬|🥗🧠Can Time Lords really learn things about a planet from tasting the dirt?: How their taste can help them figure out when and where they are.

🤔|🥗😆Why is my Gallifreyan a little bit giggly today?

Hope that helped! 😃

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features:⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[truthdawn]

whole bunch of pressure oc lore under the cut along with some drawings :3 (putting it under a keep reading because it’s long lol)

ok so, starting off with the pressure oc I have the least lore for (as of rn):

FERI is a robot/android created by urbanshade to go and rescue people in the blacksite (those who aren’t part of the expandable protocol, at least) and to bring them back to urbanshade for care

during one run FERI was attacked by a wall dweller n that fucked up their systems or whatever and made them hostile. basically an entity in the blacksite now

they kinda work like a bottomfeeder/ hanger. they hide up in air vents (u can see them before u walk under and u can flash them to make them leave) and if you walk under they drop down on u, and you play a short mini game to avoid dying. once u finish the minigame though they just kinda. stand up and go to a corner but wont attack you

some other miscellaneous stuff: they sometimes will just start playing radio chatter from the speaker on their chest, when an angler passes by, they power down momentarily, and they DO attack any wall dweller they see. if you stay near them after playing the mini game n stuff they’ll tell you to leave

next up:

allen was a prisoner in urbanshade. after a while of being there he was chosen for an experiment in blacksite that involved taking samples from pandemonium (since it has “flesh”, yknow) and putting that into a person. and that person happened to be Allen

obviously that went wrong 😒😒 and allen (now nicknamed uproar) became extremely aggressive to urbanshade employees. the whole thing with pandemonium is that it’s always “decomposing” and needs to consume other mass to keep itself intact. which is what’s happening to uproar

this caused uproar to basically just be in a never ending state of constant pain as it’s always decomposing, and he became extremely aggressive as a result of both physical and mental deterioration, killing and consuming anyone he comes across

in the blacksite, he acts as a hostile entity, sort of like a mix between pandemonium (obviously lmfao) and rebarb. he doesn’t have legs, so he swims around in water (specifically, those areas with the long pipe tunnel things). if he spots you, he rushes towards you. if you’re fast enough, flash him with a flash beacon and he’ll leave (this isn’t permanent btw this will happen again if he sees you). if you don’t flash him, get ready for ✨minigames✨

some other miscellaneous stuff: every eye on his body sees separately, causing uproar to be very sensitive to light. on the other hand, he has extremely poor hearing. he can mimic speech but it sounds distorted. the longer it’s been since he’s eaten, the more violent he becomes

and finally, my main pressure oc:

wraith. oh boy.

firstly, wraith isn’t human. hes from the let vand zone and the first variant (597-A) is more or less a “shell” used to disguise himself (although he doesn’t know that lol. he really does think hes human). that version of him lasts until he gets about 18 years old, and after this point, the “shell” starts to deteriorate (which, yes, does cause a whole lot of pain. and it takes up to a week to finish.)

after 597-A is gone, 597-B emerges, but that lasts WAY shorter than 597-A, since after a few MONTHS, it starts to crumble. this form looks this as a more or less result of being in the blacksite and seeing other entities like the anglers and searchlights. 597-C is the “final” form and the most aggressive, too

597-A is the smartest of all forms, being able to understand human speech and speak himself, as well as having basic reading comprehension and problem solving skills. he has the best memory, too, and is also the least aggressive. he doesn’t even know that hes from the let vand zone lmfao. sort of sensitive to light, but not rlly

597-B, while able to recognize faces, usually can’t understand what they’re saying and can’t speak, either. he does have basic problem solving skills, but a lot of what the first form had is lost past this point. pretty sensitive to light, especially flash beacons (subtle foreshadowing)

597-C is just.. eesh. attacks anything that moves, super sensitive to light. can’t recognize faces, can’t recognize speech, probably would run headfirst into a wall when the door is just to his left. hes also HUGE, probably about the size of a searchlight. so aggressive that he attacks other entities, too

you can think of each form as having a separate consciousness: the memories of the first form don’t transfer over to the others, neither does his opinions, thoughts, etc

while 597-A isn’t an entity (hes an expandable), the other two are. 597-B swims around in the blacksites flooded areas. harmless, but like a squiddles, if you get too close to him or shine a light on him for too long (or flash bang), he attacks you. this isn’t an instakill but he will chase you if you refuse to stop. 597-C attacks on sight, regardless of if you provoked him or not. can be in normal or flooded areas

other stuff: wraith can’t permanently die, but can be temporarily killed (only in a and b forms), missing parts of body just reform after a while

[piracytheorist]

In Life, And in Death (11/11)

Fandom: Spy x Family Word count: 1k for this chapter | 33k in total Rating: T Warnings: Temporary character death, graphic violence, horror imagery, body horror, mild gore, whump, language Cover art by buf309

Summary: Anya is kidnapped, and Twilight is thrown into the horrors of a mysterious, deadly village. Forced and then choosing to survive its trials - physical and mental - he’s brought to figure out who he truly is. (A Resident Evil Village fusion)

AO3 Read from the beginning

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Chapter 11: Light at the End

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It was said that when one door closed, another one opened.

For all intents and purposes, the door to his spy life was apparently closing behind him.

He didn’t want to stop. Losing half of his field of vision was already a hurdle he had to get used to, but if his body became as durable as Dimitrescu’s, or Heisenberg’s…

He wasn’t becoming a monster. Not anytime soon, at least.

After all, hadn’t Miranda said that his affinity to the mold was perfect?

Of course, it took a couple weeks before he could walk properly, and even then he needed a cane most of the time.

They were relocated to a small town, less than an hour away from Berlint.

Franky was told everything, and he would visit every other weekend. Twilight was surprised with the familiarity his visits offered. He was glad to have a new life with Anya and Yor, but apparently the connection he shared with Franky helped him remember that despite his new nature, his humanity was still intact.

Yuri was told less so, and he would visit in the weekends between Franky’s visits. Yor was begrudgingly used to lying to him, but the way her face glowed every time she saw her little brother alleviated some of Twilight’s guilt.

That left Anya needing a reminder of her old life. So, against Sylvia’s better judgment, they also told a similar lie to the Blackbells.

That tale was about Mr. Forger recovering from a car accident, and needing the peaceful life of the countryside while he healed. Becky would visit twice a week after school, arriving with Martha, her attendant, and leaving by nightfall.

Although it was his idea to tell the Blackbell family, so that Anya could keep her friend in her life, he couldn’t help wondering if their secrets would eventually drive the two girls apart. But then, what would Anya say? “I was murdered by five genetically modified humans, and my father literally died putting me back together, but I infected him with my mutated mold so he’s still walking among us as a conscious corpse. Also I read minds”?

Miranda had kept archives of everything related to Project Apple, including notes on Anya’s nature. It was only long-term contact with her that could make someone infected by her, which meant that the weekly visits from the others wouldn’t be harmful, at least not in the short term. Yor was naturally immune, and Loid was completely made of that stuff now, though he wasn’t infectious. In the meantime, they would give tissue samples so that WISE could try and develop a vaccine for other people who would come into contact with Anya.

Yuri already had the same gene that made him immune, like Yor, but they hadn’t discussed how they would convince Becky Blackbell to get a mysterious vaccine, or if it would be acceptable to give it to her without her knowledge.

Sylvia kept telling them they had time to figure things out. He wanted to get back to work, but she was adamant in making him retire.

He’d protested, at first. There was still a lot of work to do; and if his body adapted well, he could only imagine how much more effective he would be. To think that he could run past enemies firing bullets at him, only feeling them as simple papercuts…

But Sylvia said that Miranda’s archives were deeply detailed about Project Apple. Details that proved the previous Ostanian government had funded the project, fully aware it would be dealing with human experimentation. Names and signatures and direct orders to dispose of any non-cooperating witnesses.

Those files were like a nuclear time bomb. If the Westalian government found out about them, there would be no stopping that side from reigniting the flames of war, but for now the current government in Ostania seemed to see the threat well enough to begin suggesting policies for surrender of weapons.

It wasn’t their best tool; people still deserved to know the atrocities that took place in their country, and the ones involved still deserved to face consequences for their decisions.

But it was something. And people like him couldn’t afford to haggle.

So he stayed in that small town as he slowly recovered his strength. Anya bounced back immediately, in a physical sense. Emotionally, she rarely spent more than a few minutes or so away from him or Yor.

Since learning about her real age, they decided to let her pause school for now. She could start over the next year, without having to compete with kids one year older than her, while still reeling from what had happened to her.

For now, she spent her time playing, drawing, learning to care for the flowers in their small garden.

And at night, she would cling to him or Yor, when nightmares plagued her.

At least, he thought, she was young enough to find time to heal.

He didn’t know what time he had.

His nightmares weren’t any better, and though his body showed the usual signs of development, nails growing, and hair, whether scalp, facial, or body hair growing in a normal pace too, he had the feeling he would simply be stuck to how he looked like now.

From Miranda’s files they had deduced she’d stayed the same age for nearly eighty years. The Lords had stayed the same age too, after she’d experimented on them, and all of them would have probably lasted way longer if they hadn’t messed with the wrong spy.

So now, it was a matter of waiting and seeing. Aside from missing a heartbeat and his body being slightly colder than normal, he seemed to be working fine.

Yor stayed. She wanted to be there for Anya, she seemed to have forgiven him for his lies, she wasn’t going to report him, and she promised she’d always be ready and willing to put a stop to him if he ever lost control.

Anya wanted to be sleeping with both of them, so they’d found a solution by having her sleep in the middle of a king size bed, while they lay on the sides.

And a few months into their adjusting into this life, Yor reached over and took his hand in hers, one night after Anya had fallen asleep.

She wasn’t scared. She wasn’t disgusted. She only saw two human beings that she wanted to give her love to.

They looked into each other’s eyes as they fell asleep.

Maybe that was where the next door opened.